No. 20 Pitt Shoots Down DePaul’s Senior Day

The 20th ranked Pitt Panthers shot an unbelievable 71.7% from the field to spoil DePaul’s Senior Day in a 81-66 win on Saturday afternoon at Allstate Arena.

DePaul (11-20, 2-16) senior guard Worrel Clahar played with tremendous heart in his final appearance at Allstate Arena. Before fouling out with 2:06 left in the game, Clahar scored 19 points to go along with two assists, two rebounds, and two steals.

“The main reason I’m so disappointed today is we weren’t able to get a win for our seniors - Worell and Stu (Perri),” said DePaul coach Oliver Purnell. “I did think that Worrel played one of his best games for us. He was tenacious and tough out there. I would have liked for several other guys to play as hard as he did.”

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon was impressed with Clahar’s toughness today.

“He makes up for his size with unbelievable determination,” said Dixon.

“My whole intention not just this game, but every game leading up to it, is to be remembered here at DePaul for working hard,” said Clahar.

Pittsburgh (24-7, 12-6) outworked DePaul on the glass and outrebounded the Blue Demons by a 27-15 margin.

DePaul junior guard Brandon Young lead all scorers with 22 points. Cleveland Melvin finished with 12 points and Jamee Crockett came off the bench to score 10.

The Panthers were led by J. J. Moore’s 21 points off the bench and 18 points from guard Tray Woodall.

DePaul will face Rutgers at 8 p.m. Central on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in the opening round of the Big East tournament.

“This is our NCAA tournament,” Purnell said of the Big East tournament. “We play Rutgers (on Tuesday). If we win, we keep going. So it functions exactly like a NCAA tournament. That’s the approach we have to take.”

Senior Day

Before Saturday’s game, senior point guard Worrel Clahar, walkon Stuart Pirri, and managers Jay Mann and Ryan Ornstein were honored in Senior Day ceremonies.

Box Score

Notes:

- Pittsburgh leads the series, 9-2... Saturday was the final BIG EAST regular-season meeting between the two programs... the Panthers begin ACC play next season.

- Brandon Young became the first player in program history with at least 1,200 points, 400 assists and 100 three-pointers... he is also the 17th player in school history with 100 three’s.

- Worrel Clahar matched his career high with 19 points.

- Pittsburgh set an Allstate Arena record with a team field goal percentage of .717 (33-46)... the mark was also a program record and the highest by a BIG EAST team in a conference game.

- Cleveland Melvin recorded his 100th career blocked shot to become the ninth player in school history with 100 rejections... Melvin didn’t start for the first time this season.

- Senior Stuart Pirri made his first collegiate start... DePaul has now used eight different starting lineups this season.

- DePaul concludes its 33rd season at Allstate Arena... the Blue Demons have a 317-151 (.677) all-time record in Rosemont.