Mccullough, Pitt Give Irish Fits

Jerry McCullough scored all 19 of his points in the second half and Pittsburgh used a midgame 20-5 run and excellent freethrow shooting down the stretch to beat Notre Dame 75-65 Saturday.

McCullough, a point guard who had a career-high 13 assists in Pitt’s 75-56 upset of No. 5 Georgetown on Wednesday, was 10 of 11 from the foul line in the second half as Pitt scored its final 13 points on foul shots.

Pitt (8-3, 3-1 in Big East) was 20 of 24 from the foul line in the second half and 25 of 30 overall to win its fifth in a row and send Notre Dame (5-7, 0-5) to its fifth consecutive Big East loss. The Irish have yet to win a conference game.

Pat Garrity kept the Irish from getting blown out after Pitt opened a 16-point lead, scoring all but six of his 27 points in the second half. He was 10 of 10 from the foul line.

Pitt, which used a 31-6 run midway through the game to rout Georgetown, went on a similar run at almost the same point to open a 44-28 lead.

The Panthers, playing without their top two freshmen recruits, scored the final six points of the first half to lead 30-23 at halftime. McCullough then scored the first four points of the second half to finish a 10-0 run and make it 34-23.

Garrity tried to get the Irish back in the game by scoring 21 of the Irish’s first 30 points in the second half, but McCullough hit 3-pointers on consecutive Pitt possessions to restore the Panthers’ 15-point lead at 53-38.