Aaron Gray missed the first start of his career Monday night, but Pitt had plenty of help from Levon Kendall, Sam Young and Tyrell Biggs, lifting the Panthers to a 71-68 win over the Pirates. On top of that, Jamie Dixon picked up the 100th win of his career, the fastest to 100 wins of any coach in Pitt history. The Panthers also improve to 6-0 on the road in conference play. Pitt is the only team in the country unbeaten on the road, in conference play this season.

Only a handful of coaches have gotten 100 victories in a four year span, including Adolph Rupp, Denny Crum and Dan Haskins.

"I bet they had good players too, and that's the main ingredient," Dixon said of joining this elite crew. "It's fortunate every day, being at this University, with the players we have, the coaches and the support staff."

Levance Fields led the Panthers with 15 points, and also added six rebounds. Fields got five of those points in the last minute of the game, connecting on five of his six free throws, which were key in clinching the win, and fighting off a late Seton Hall rally. Kendall scored a season-high 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Sam Young added 11 points, nine of which were in the second half While Fields led the team in scoring, no player was bigger in the absence of Gray than Kendall.

In what has been an unpredictable series, for both teams, the Panthers win their first game over the Hall in two years. The two teams have alternated wins in the series over the last six games. In last season's lone meeting, the Pirates won on senior night at the Petersen Events Center, 65-61. The Panthers had not won at Seton Hall since an overtime win in February of 2002. It was only the Panthers' fourth win at Seton Hall, in its last 15 trips to East Rutherford. Three of those wins have been in the Howland-Dixon era (2001, 2002, 2007).

...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now for a FREE Trial