Jan. 2, 2008
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
PITTSBURGH - Lafayette drained 17 three-pointers against No. 13 Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center on Wednesday night. Pitt used a 15-2 run midway through the second half and the Panthers shot 80 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes to pull away to a 96-75 victory.
The 17 three-pointers by the Leopards are the most ever by a Pitt (12-1) opponent and fell one three-pointer short of the school record.
Matt Betley led the Leopards with a career-high 20 points, going a perfect 6-for-6 from behind the arc while joining Bilal Abdullah (14), Andrew Brown (11) and Paul Cummins (11) in double figures.
Lafayette used a three-point barrage to lead Pitt for a majority of the first half. The Leopards hit 11 three-pointers in the opening stanza and Betley was 5-for-5 from three-point range. Abdullah, Brown and Cummins each hit two apiece as Lafayette went 11-for-18 (61 percent) from behind-the-arc while dishing out 13 assists on 14 baskets in the first half.
The Leopards (8-5) led by as many as seven points in the first half before leaving with the 41-39 advantage. Ted Detmer converted on one of two free throw opportunities with 2:45 left in the half to give the Leopards' a seven-point margin at 38-31 and then again at 2:00 (40-33) after a layup by Cummins.
In the second half, Pittsburgh regained the lead (42-41) after a trey from Ronald Ramon, but was held to a single-digit advantage until midway through the second half. Ramon knocked down another two treys, helping Pittsburgh to a seven-point lead at 15:07 (56-49).
A Cummins' three-pointer off a pass from Jared Mintz at the high post cut the lead 60-56 at 12:28. Over the next four minutes, Pittsburgh responded with a 15-2 run to go up 75-58.
Keith Benjamin led Pitt with 20 points and Sam Young and Tyrell Biggs scored 19 apiece as Pittsburgh shot 20-for-25 from the floor in the second half. The Panthers scored 36 of their 96 points in the paint while allowing Lafayette only 12 points in the paint.
The Leopards travel to Mississippi State on Jan. 5 for a 3 p.m. EST tip-off (2 p.m. Central).
GAME NOTES:
•Every single Lafayette player saw time on the court at Pittsburgh, including significant minutes from freshmen Darion Benbow (6), Jared Mintz (13), Deirunas Visockas (6) and Ben Wheeler (7).
• Lafayette set a new season high with 17 three-pointers at Pitt. Lafayette has hit 10 or more treys in every game with the exception of the season-opener against Wagner.
• Matt Betley came into the game averaging just 32 percent from behind the arc, but shot 100 percent from three-point land at Pittsburgh for his first 20+ point scoring game of the season.
• True to form Lafayette dished out 19 assists on 24 baskets and now averages 16.3 assists per game. Lafayette matched Pittsburgh rebound for rebound as each finished with 24 apiece.
