Pitt settles for 3rd
MILWAUKEE — With one of its top point producers wearing street clothes and a brace on his hand, Marquette needed another scorer to help pull out of its recent nose dive with an upset victory.
Along came freshman David Cubillan, who scored a season-high 20 points and almost single-handedly prevented the Golden Eagles from blowing what had been shaping up as an easy win.
Cubillan hit a key 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining, then went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute as No. 20 Marquette held off No. 12 Pittsburgh for a 75-71 victory on Saturday night.
"He was huge tonight, and he's going to have to continue to remain that way," said Wesley Matthews, who also scored 20 for Marquette.
Marquette (23-8, 10-6 Big East) came into the game shaky and short-handed, but looked more athletic and energetic than Pittsburgh from the opening tip — until the Panthers nearly stole the game with a late rally.
The Golden Eagles remained in the Top 25 this week despite losing four of their past five games. And Marquette was forced to play without guard Jerel McNeal on Saturday, their second-leading scorer. McNeal sat out with a cast on his right hand and thumb protecting a previously undisclosed injury.
Given the adversity, Marquette coach Tom Crean said the victory was huge for his team.
"Without sounding corny, this is one of those days they will never forget," Crean said.
A win would have given Pittsburgh (25-6, 12-4 Big East) a share of the Big East regular-season title. Earlier in the day, No. 9 Georgetown clinched at least a share of the conference championship with a 59-46 victory over Connecticut.
"The game was very disappointing," Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. "Everything was in place for us to get a piece of the Big East title, but we couldn't get it done tonight. We didn't play well enough to win."
The Golden Eagles led by 17 in the second half, but Pittsburgh rallied with a 15-4 run.
Pittsburgh's Sam Young later cut the lead to four with two free throws, but Marquette freshman David Cubillan responded with his fourth 3-pointer of the game to put the Golden Eagles ahead 64-57 with 1:40 remaining.
Cubillan then hit all eight free throws in the final minute.
"I wasn't nervous," Cubillan said. "We shoot free throws in practice all the time."
Marquette hit 11 of 12 overall from the line down the stretch to stave off a final comeback attempt by Pittsburgh that included a three-point play and putback basket by center Aaron Gray and a desperation trey by Young.
