2008 Woodie Awards
Pitt leads at half; falls late in loss to KSU
Curtis Thom
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Sports
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Michael Beasley, the No.1-ranked freshman basketball player, was supposed to lead his team to an easy victory and be the best player in the nation while doing it.
But Cory Abercrombie must've not gotten that memo.
Abercrombie, junior forward, led the Gorillas with 25 points and seven rebounds, but that wasn't enough to get the victory over the Kansas State Wildcats.
The Gorillas started the game by shutting out the highly touted Wildcats for nearly three minutes before sophomore forward Bill Walker drained a 3-pointer.
Behind Abercrombie's 15-game high points in the first half, the Gorillas went into halftime leading the Wildcats 40-38.
At halftime, Wildcat guard Blake Young told his teammates that the first-half defense needed retooling.
"In the first half we were letting them get the ball wherever they wanted to," said Young, who finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. "In the second half, we came out and tried to mess that up a little bit and get some easy buckets."
With the "retooled" defense in effect, Beasley dumped in 18 second-half points finishing with 30 points on the night.
Following a lay-up by senior Michael Hutchingson, the Gorillas swelled their lead to seven, when KSU put together a 27-9 run to finalize the score 76-66.
After shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half, the Gorillas returned somewhat flat as their percentage fell to 32 percent in the second half, something that Gorillas head coach Gene Iba attributed to fatigue.
"I thought that we were a little tired. When you are a little tired, covering a guy that is going to play for money next year (Beasley) is pretty tough to do sometimes," said Iba.
Abercrombie said the team could take a lot of things from the loss, despite failing to notch the upset.
"Yeah, it is a little disappointing. All we can do is learn from this loss," he said. "I wish we could have won but as long as our team got better, it is a good thing."
Coming off a game against Wichita State, where the Gorillas scored only 10 points in the first half, Iba said he was pleased with his team's effort.
But Cory Abercrombie must've not gotten that memo.
Abercrombie, junior forward, led the Gorillas with 25 points and seven rebounds, but that wasn't enough to get the victory over the Kansas State Wildcats.
The Gorillas started the game by shutting out the highly touted Wildcats for nearly three minutes before sophomore forward Bill Walker drained a 3-pointer.
Behind Abercrombie's 15-game high points in the first half, the Gorillas went into halftime leading the Wildcats 40-38.
At halftime, Wildcat guard Blake Young told his teammates that the first-half defense needed retooling.
"In the first half we were letting them get the ball wherever they wanted to," said Young, who finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. "In the second half, we came out and tried to mess that up a little bit and get some easy buckets."
With the "retooled" defense in effect, Beasley dumped in 18 second-half points finishing with 30 points on the night.
Following a lay-up by senior Michael Hutchingson, the Gorillas swelled their lead to seven, when KSU put together a 27-9 run to finalize the score 76-66.
After shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half, the Gorillas returned somewhat flat as their percentage fell to 32 percent in the second half, something that Gorillas head coach Gene Iba attributed to fatigue.
"I thought that we were a little tired. When you are a little tired, covering a guy that is going to play for money next year (Beasley) is pretty tough to do sometimes," said Iba.
Abercrombie said the team could take a lot of things from the loss, despite failing to notch the upset.
"Yeah, it is a little disappointing. All we can do is learn from this loss," he said. "I wish we could have won but as long as our team got better, it is a good thing."
Coming off a game against Wichita State, where the Gorillas scored only 10 points in the first half, Iba said he was pleased with his team's effort.
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