Pittsburgh 63, St. John's 47
NEW YORK -- Jamie Dixon has always considered Madison Square Garden a "home-away-from-home" for his Pittsburgh Panthers.
It was at the Garden where Dixon won his first game as Pittsburgh's coach in the 2003-04 opener, the first of his team's 20 wins at the iconic building. With the exception of its home court, the Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh has played its most games at the Garden in that span.
No. 20 Pitt enjoyed another stellar performance at the Garden by turning back St. John's 63-47 on Sunday.
With Pittsburgh (21-7, 9-6 Big East Conference) bolting for the ACC next season, the coming Big East Tournament in March will be the Panthers' final conference appearance at the Garden.
Dixon has used the games at the Garden as a spotlight to recruit from the fertile New York City metropolitan area. One of those players, senior guard Tray Woodall from Brooklyn, was a major factor in the Panthers breaking their two-game losing streak on Sunday.
Woodall, who played for nationally-recognized St. Anthony of Jersey City (N.J.), poured in a season-high 25 points. He also contributed two assists and two steals.
JaKarr Sampson led St. John's (16-11, 8-7) with 14 points. The Red Storm's leading scorer, D'Angelo Harrison, was held to six points on 1-of-12 shooting from the floor.
St. John's took its last lead at 33-32 early in the second half before Pittsburgh used a 14-7 run to pull away 47-39 with 9 minutes to play. Woodall dropped in six points in the run.
Pittsburgh never trailed in the first half, taking a 30-27 lead into the locker room. Woodall topped the Panthers in the half with 10 points. He and Adams combined for all of Pittsburgh's points when it jumped out to a 13-6 edge.
Greene led the Red Storm with nine points.
Notes: Over the last 12 seasons, Pittsburgh has been the Big East Conference's leader in overall winning percentage (.770), league winning percentage (.685), Big East championships (six), Big East Tournament wins (20) and NCAA appearances (10). ... Pittsburgh guard James Robinson is on course to break the school record for assist-to-turnover ratio for a freshman. Robinson's ratio is 3.03 to 1 and would beat Sean Miller's record of 2.27 to 1 set in 1987-88. ... St. John's 6-foot-9 freshman Chris Obekpa is second in the nation in blocked shots with 110.
