PHILADELPHIA, March 9 (UPI) -- Brandon Knight scored 15 points Sunday as seventh-ranked Pittsburgh survived a wild finish for a 56-54 Big East victory over shorthanded Villanova.
The Wildcats (15-13, 8-8 Big East East) were forced to dress only seven players because of Saturday's suspensions imposed on 12 players for using an unauthorized phone code. The suspensions are being staggered by the NCAA so the Wildcats can field a team for their remaining contests.
"I'm very proud of our guys and their effort," said Villanova Coach Jay Wright. "The only thing we had left to do was to go out and play with pride and I think our guys did."
"It was very hard for us, I think, because we're used to being out running and attacking on offense, but this game, we had to conserve our energy to make a run late in the game," said freshman forward Curtis Sumpter. "It was a pretty smart game plan."
As a result, Wright was forced to start three freshmen, and had only a pair of walk-ons available on the bench. The Wildcats walked the ball up on each possession, taking care to run the shot down to preserve energy and put forth a gallant effort.
"I envisioned every possible scenario," said Pittsburgh Coach Ben Howland. "I was nervous today because I thought they would rally. A lot of times, when you have adversity like they've had in the last 48 hours, you get extra special efforts."
The Wildcats did not substitute in the first half and fell behind by 14 points at intermission, but stayed close throughout the second half. A free throw by Knight gave Pittsburgh (23-4, 13-3 West) a 55-45 lead with 1:15 to go.
Villanova took advantage of poor foul shooting by Pittsburgh to make one final charge. Freshman Allan Ray's two free throws cut the deficit to 56-54 with 41 seconds remaining.
After Knight missed badly on a pair of foul shots, Pittsburgh forced a jump ball on the rebound off the second miss and got the possession arrow in its favor. But the Panthers committed a backcourt violation, giving Villanova a chance to tie or take the lead.
Villanova freshman Curtis Sumpter's 3-pointer was blocked by Ontario Lett and Pitt came down with the rebound. Jaron Brown went to the basket for a layup rather than wait to get fouled and had his shot blocked before the Panthers came up with the loose ball and Knight was fouled with three seconds left.
Knight missed his final pair from the line and Wright called a timeout to set up a final play, but the Wildcats failed to get a shot off as time expired.
"We knew they'd come out and play hard," Lett said. "It was just like I expected. Nobody thought it was going to be easy."
"It was tough on all of us, especially the underclassmen," said junior guard Derrick Snowden, the most experienced player available. "I think we showed a lot of character. A lot of teams, when adversity strikes, their true colors show. No matter what's gonna happen to us, we're all gonna stick together."
The Wildcats dropped their fourth straight and fell to the fourth seed out of the East for the conference tournament. They will meet Georgetown in the first round on Wednesday.
