Huskies blow 17-point lead

Updated: January 23, 2005

STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- Chevon Troutman scored 25 of his

career-high 29 points in the second half and Pittsburgh erased a

17-point deficit to upset Connecticut 76-66 Saturday night.

Troutman scored 10 straight points midway through the second

half and gave the Panthers (13-3, 3-2 Big East) their

first lead at 55-54 with 8:14 left -- and Pitt (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today; No. 21 AP) would never give it

back.

The Huskies (11-4, 3-2) had a nine-point lead at the half but

watched it dissolve because of poor shooting and the Panthers'

tough post defense.

UConn (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today; No. 16 AP) went nearly nine minutes in the second half without a

field goal, while Troutman went on his 10-0 run, built largely on

inside baskets.

It was a matchup of two of the best rebounding teams in the

nations. UConn led the nation in rebounding margin (15.6) and the

Panthers (10.6) were fifth coming into the game. The Huskies lived

up to their billing in the first half, dominating inside even

without star center Josh Boone, who was in early foul trouble.

Connecticut used runs of 9-0 and 8-0 in the first half to build

a 17-point lead late in the period. They played solid both inside

and out, riding the perimeter play of Rashad Anderson, who was

4-of-6 from 3-point range in the half and the Huskies led 43-32 at

the half.

But the second half was all Pittsburgh. The Panthers outscored

UConn 26-22 in the paint and came up with key blocks down the

stretch. Troutman led Pittsburgh with 12 boards and had two of the

Panthers' five blocks. Carl Krauser added 15 and Chris Taft had 10

for Pittsburgh.

Anderson led UConn with 19 points and Villanueva had 14 points

and 10 boards.

The snowstorm that pounded the Northeast did little to deter

UConn fans. Season-ticket holders who did not make the game donated

about 3,000 tickets to students who helped fill the 10,000-seat

Gampel Pavilion.

Pitt and UConn had split six meetings over the last three

seasons and played each other in the conference tournament final

the past three seasons.