Pitt's experience edges Texas, 68-66

It's tough to beat Pitt's pair of experienced guards, Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker, but Texas gave it a try by feeding the ball to ace shooter Jordan Hamilton for most of a knockdown, drag-out battle in the second half of the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

But after the Panthers' Travon Woodall missed the front end of a one-and-one with 11.3 seconds left and a two-point lead, the ball wound up in the hands of Longhorns freshman guard Cory Joseph. Call it a case of freshman-itis, but for some reason, Joseph never thought to look for Hamilton, who scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half and was hot from three-point range, shooting 5-for-7.

Joseph drove headlong the length of the court and threw up an off-balance hook that had no chance. No. 4 Pitt got the rebound and escaped with a 68-66 victory over No. 22 Texas.

Longhorns coach Rick Barnes, who is sitting on 499 career victories, has only himself to blame for not getting a better shot at No. 500.

"Whoever got the ball off a make or a miss was to drive to the hoop," Barnes said. In that respect, Joseph followed orders perfectly, but 11.3 seconds should have been plenty of time to set up a play for Hamilton.

Gibbs led the way for the Panthers (5-0) with 24 points and Wanamaker played a terrific all-around game with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Longhorns (3-1) got 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots from freshman forward Tristan Thompson and 14 points from guard J'Covan Brown off the bench.

In the third-place game, No. 13 Illinois (4-1) earned an 80-76 victory over Maryland (3-2), getting 20 points and seven assists from Demetri McCamey and 12 points from Brandon Paul. Maryland was led by Jordan Williams (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Sean Mosley (14 points, five assists).

Pitt opened a 37-28 lead early in the second half, but Thompson worked inside for two straight baskets to trigger a 10-2 Longhorns run to cut the Panthers' edge to 39-38. That's when the Panthers' old guard combination took charge, just as they are likely to do come tournament time in March.

Gibbs scored the first 10 points in an 18-9 run that ended with five points from Wanamaker for a 57-47 lead with 8:17 left. "My team did a great job screening and finding me in open spots," Gibbs said. "I was trying to be aggressive and take over a little bit."

That could have been a knockout punch, but the Longhorns' Hamilton refused to go down easily, converting a three-point play with 2:26 left to cut Pitt's lead to 63-62. Gibbs hit a three with 1:25 to play, but a fast-break dunk by Thompson made it 66-64 with 29.4 seconds left. After Gibbs made a pair of foul shots, Hamilton fought for a rebound and sank an off-balance jumper in the paint to keep it a two-point game with 12.1 seconds left.

That was the last time Hamilton touched the ball. "That was a bit of a surprise," Gibbs said of the final play. "But Joseph is a good player and creator. I thought it would be Joseph or Hamilton."