University of Richmond
Pittsburgh
Richmond Falls To No. 10 Pittsburgh
12/23/2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 23, 2004
PITTSBURGH - Carl Krauser is turning what traditionally is Pittsburgh's most glaring weakness into one of its greatest strengths.
Krauser's outside shooting and career-high 31 points helped the 10th-ranked Panthers hold off Richmond 69-60 on Thursday night, the first game between the schools in 66 years.
With shooting guard Antonio Graves out with a sprained ankle, Krauser - Pitt's point guard - was more aggressive than usual in looking for the outside shot and scored 18 points in the second half.
"You realize as a point guard that sometimes you've got to take over a game, and that's what I intended to do," Krauser said. "I wanted to give a big lift to my team."
Chris Taft added 11 points and freshman Ronald Ramon, who started for Graves, had 10 to help the Panthers start 9-0 for the third consecutive season and the second in as many seasons under coach Jamie Dixon.
Pitt has yet to play a Top 25 opponent and isn't scheduled to meet one until facing No. 11 Connecticut on Jan. 22. The Panthers are 42-1 at home since the Petersen Events Center opened two years ago and have won 24 consecutive non-conference games.
Krauser became the first Pitt player to score more than 30 points at the Petersen Center and matched the arena record of 31 by Notre Dame's Matt Carroll in January 2003.
"He's one of the top five or six point guards in the country," Richmond coach Jerry Wainwright said. "And that's what those guys do. It wasn't a prima donna 30-point game, either, it was a blue-collar game. He left a lot of skin on the floor, going for loose balls."
Krauser came into the game averaging 14.5 points, with only one game of more than 20 points. He scored 12 points during a 17-6 run that boosted Pitt's lead to 56-44 with 9:24 to go - including six during an 8-0 Pitt run that lasted only 33 seconds.
Krauser hit 3s on consecutive possessions and was fouled on the second. He missed the free throw, but Chevon Troutman scored off the rebound to put Pitt up 47-38.
Richmond (4-4), trying for its fourth road upset of a Top 25 team in three seasons under Wainwright, closed to 62-58 with just over 3 minutes remaining.
But Krauser made four free throws and Ramon added two down the stretch to hold off the Spiders, who opened their season by upsetting another Big East opponent, Seton Hall, on Nov. 19.
Krauser went 6-of-8 from 3-point range as Pitt - a terrible outside shooting team last season even while going 31-5 - made nine of 18 from beyond the arc. Richmond was 7-of-15.
"We were running a lot of plays for him and he had a lot of opportunities for shots," Taft said. "We all know he can hit that shot if they leave him open and it was almost like they didn't respect his outside shooting. He kept hitting them and we kept running plays for him."
Last season, Pitt finished 320th among the 326 Division I teams in 3-point shooting and didn't score 60 points in its last four tournament games, including all three NCAA games.
"I worked on my shot all summer," Krauser said. "I've got the ability to do a lot of things, and when I see open shots, I knew I had to knock them down."
Jermaine Bucknor scored 13 points, Patrick O'Malley and Kevin Steenberge each had 12 and T.J. Paterick scored 10 for Richmond, which was outrebounded 40-29 in dropping its third in four games.
Krauser, a junior, set a career scoring high for the second time in three games, following up his 28 points in an 84-71 victory at Penn State on Dec. 11.
The teams hadn't played since a 47-24 Pittsburgh victory during the 1938-39 season.
ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
