Ashton Gibbs scored 20 points to lead Pitt past Eastern Kentucky, 71-60, tonight at the Petersen Events Center. It was the second consecutive game that Gibbs scored 20 points or more. He scored 22 against Binghamton Tuesday night.

Nasir Robinson scored 15 points and Lamar Patterson 10 for the 3-0 Panthers, who head to Kansas City next week for the final two games of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. Pitt will play Wichita State Monday night at the Sprint Center with the winner advancing to the championship game to face either Texas or Iowa.

Pitt tied a school record with 12 blocks in the game. Freshman center Dante Taylor and junior center Gary McGhee each had four blocks apiece.

Eastern Kentucky kept the score close for the first 10 minutes. Pitt led 19-16 with 10:03 remaining before halftime. But over the final 10 minutes of the half, the Panthers outscored the Colonels, 20-8, to take a commanding 39-24 lead at the intermission.

Pitt held Eastern Kentucky without a field goal for the final 8:08 of the half, and the Colonels did not score in the final 6:57.

Pitt finished the half on an 11-0 run. The Panthers shot 52 percent from the field. Gibbs had 14 points in the first half and Patterson 10. Eastern Kentucky shot 36 percent.

Pitt maintained a double-digit lead until 1:06 remained in the game. The final margin would not have been close had the Panthers not shot horrendously from the free-throw line. They were 14 for 24 for the game, with many of those misses coming in the final five minutes.

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