Matt Freed, Post-Gazette photos Carl Krauser bites his lip as the final seconds tick away against Bradley yesterday. Pitt lost, 72-66. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Pitt Tournament Notebook: Panthers' physical play runs afoul

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- It was there for the taking. Pitt had clear sailing to Oakland, Calif., and a date with Memphis in the third round of the NCAA tournament. All that stood in the way was Bradley, a 10-loss team from the Missouri Valley Conference that lost to Loyola of Chicago, Drake and Indiana State in the regular season.

As it turns out, it wasn't so much Bradley as it was its 7-foot center that stood between Pitt and the Sweet 16. And beating Patrick O'Bryant proved to be a tall order for the Panthers.

O'Bryant, an unknown before the NCAA tournament began, ended Pitt's season with a thoroughly dominating performance. O'Bryant scored a career-high 28 points and had seven rebounds in Bradley's 72-66 upset of Pitt yesterday at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Bradley is the first No. 13 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 since Oklahoma in 1999.

"Who would have ever thought Bradley would be in the Sweet 16 this year," Bradley's Daniel Ruffin said. "There were people doubting that we should even be in the tournament."

O'Bryant was the catalyst for the Braves, who haven't advanced this far in the tournament since 1954. O'Bryant was 10 for 17 from the field and got the better of Pitt's 7-footer Aaron Gray. Gray, a first-team all-Big East Conference selection who averaged a double-double for the season, scored 12 points and had a season-low four rebounds.

"That was my 'A' game right there," O'Bryant said. "I think I played a great game."

Gray picked up two early fouls and could not get into the flow offensively or defensively. He sat out 12 minutes in the first half after picking up his second foul, and he picked up his third foul early in the second half after slamming the ball to the floor out of frustration after being called for five seconds.

Pitt's Aaron Gray can't find room between Bradley's Marcellus Sommerville, left, and Patrick O'Bryant in the first half of yesterday's NCAA tournament play. Click photo for larger image.

Gray's technical foul proved to be the turning point. Pitt led by one when it was called, but Bradley used the momentum for a 19-4 run in which it took control of the game.

"Obviously, I could have played better, I should have played better," a distraught Gray said afterward. "I definitely had to play more tentative than I would have liked. I wanted to be more aggressive in the second half, but I picked up that cheap technical that got me my third foul. Obviously, I wasn't playing the most aggressive I could have, and he definitely took advantage of that."

Bradley outrebounded Pitt, 40-38, and got 16 offensive rebounds against the usually hard-nosed and defensive-minded Panthers. The Braves were quicker to loose balls and more aggressive in the lane.

Reserve guard Lawrence Wright had seven of those offensive rebounds and had 14 points. Forward Marcellus Sommerville had 18 points and six rebounds.

"We didn't do a good enough job rebounding," said senior guard Carl Krauser, who was responsible for Wright for much of the game. "The rebounds really hurt us. When we missed shots those guys were turning it into buckets in transition. When we turned the ball over they turned it into dunks or tip-ins."

Bradley's size and speed proved difficult for Pitt to overcome. The Braves played in-your-face man-to-man defense all game and clearly bothered Pitt's guard, who were forced into some early mistakes.

On Pitt's first eight possessions, the Panthers turned the ball over five times and only got off three shots. Bradley took advantage of the slow start and raced to an early 16-4 lead.

		Local matchups No. 6 West Virginia (22-10) vs. No. 2 Texas (29-6), 9:40 p.m. Thursday, Georgia Dome, Atlanta. TV: KDKA WNIT: Pitt (20-10) vs. Mississippi (17-13), 7 p.m. Wednesday at Fitzgerald Field House.

The Panthers did not score their first points until Gray made two free throws five minutes into the game and their first basket until Sam Young made a short jumper with 11:48 to go in the half.

"We maybe weren't quite ready for their pressure defense," junior forward Levon Kendall said. "We were caught off guard the way they were pressuring the ball. We weren't ready for that off the bat."

Pitt climbed back into the game with a 14-3 run and made it 30-29 at halftime when Levance Fields, who scored a team-high 18 points, made a 3-pointer from the corner with 29 seconds remaining.

The Panthers scored the first two baskets of the second half and appeared poised to seize control, but Gray picked up his technical foul a few minutes later and the game started slipping away.

Tony Bennett capped the 19-4 run with a jumper with 8:52 remaining to make it 53-39. Pitt cut the lead to four with 11 seconds left, but that was as close as the Panthers could get.

Bradley made 16 of 18 free throws in the final 21/2 minutes to seal the contest.

"I had a better feeling than I ever had coming into any game," Krauser said. "I definitely thought we were going to win this game. It's just sad for it to end like this."

It was an all too familiar ending for the Panthers. For the fourth time in the past five seasons, they had their season ended in the NCAA tournament by a team from a mid-major conference.

"It's tough," Kendall said. "The hardest part is when you feel like you can beat a team, but you get outplayed. We just weren't on point today. That's why it hurts a little more."