The main criticism of No. 6 Pittsburgh all season has been that the Panthers haven’t beaten a quality opponent. No one can say that now.
Ontario Lett scored 10 straight points to start Pittsburgh’s comeback in the first half, then used his size and muscle to power a 16-0 run in the second half as the Panthers overwhelmed No. 5 Notre Dame 72-55 Monday night.
“I was sick to my gut all day about this game,” Pitt coach Ben Howland said. “I’m relieved this is over.”
Notre Dame, denied its fourth victory over a Top Ten opponent, was held scoreless for nearly nine minutes as Pitt turned a 42-38 deficit into a 54-42 lead with 9:12 remaining. The Irish had only two field goals, both 3-pointers, over the final 161 1/42 minutes.
“Defense and rebounding wins games,” Howland said. “Our guys are proud of the way they play defense.”
Pitt is 42-1 under Howland when holding teams to 60 points or below, with the lone loss being to Notre Dame last season.
Brandin Knight had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and he and Julius Page held Notre Dame’s Chris Thomas to five points on 2-of-15 shooting. Thomas was averaging 17.4 points coming into the game.
Matt Carroll had 31 points for the Fighting Irish (12-2), but no other Notre Dame player scored more than six.
