Gilbert Brown scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half Monday night, and Ashton Gibbs made three free throws in the final 7.4 seconds, helping No. 23 Pittsburgh hold on for a 74-71 victory over Cincinnati that stretched the Panthers' winning streak to six games.
Pitt (13-2, 3-0 Big East) has won nine of its last 10 with a balanced offense and gritty defense. Both came into play in a tight game _ neither team led by more than seven points. The Panthers made 8 of 11 free throws over the final 62 seconds to protect their lead.
Yancy Gates led the Bearcats (10-4, 2-1) with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Larry Davis shot an air ball from midcourt at the buzzer to end it.
Gibbs, who had 19 points, didn't miss a shot in the first half, scoring 14 points as Pitt took a 38-32 lead. With Cincinnati's defense focused on him in the second half, Brown got open shots and turned back Cincinnati's attempts to catch up in the closing minutes.
Pitt played its fourth game since getting its lineup back to full strength. Jermaine Dixon broke his right foot in August, and Brown was on academic suspension, forcing the Panthers to improvise. With those two back, they are unbeaten.
Dixon had a career-high 21 points in an 82-72 win at No. 7 Syracuse on Saturday. The Panthers didn't return home after the breakthrough win, flying to Cincinnati to play one of the Big East's early surprises on its home court.
The Bearcats already had beaten three ranked teams this season, including Connecticut in their last home game. They went right at Pitt's front line at the outset, with Gates scoring over Gary McGhee for Cincinnati's first basket.
Two minutes later, the 6-foot-10 McGhee went to the bench with blood dripping from his nose after contact under the basket. He returned with his nostrils packed, a painful picture of how it this one would play out.
Gates, a 6-9 forward, had come off the bench in the last four games, a sign of coach Mick Cronin's displeasure with his effort. He was back in the starting lineup on Monday and had 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half.
Cincinnati opened with an 11-4 run by going inside, but Gibbs had two free throws and a basket during an 11-2 run that helped Pitt take the lead. McGhee's emphatic dunk with 6 seconds left gave the Panthers a 38-32 lead.
Cincinnati couldn't stop Gibbs, who made every shot he attempted _ four from the field, five from the free-throw line _ for 14 points in the half. He missed his first shot in the second half, a jumper in traffic, and Cincinnati went inside again to tie it at 40.
Brown kept Pitt's offense rolling, hitting open shots over a defense geared to stop Gibbs. His wide-open jumper with 3:38 left put the Panthers ahead 66-62, and they sealed it from the free-throw line.
