PITTSBURGH (AP) - Brad Wanamaker scored 24 points, Ashton Gibbs had 22 and No. 5 Pittsburgh survived an upset scare, rallying from eight points down to beat Rhode Island 83-75 on Monday night.
Pitt ended a sluggish first half in the 2K Sports Classic opener by scoring nine consecutive points over the final 1:21 after Rhode Island went ahead 36-28. The Panthers then wore down Rhode Island with their size, defense and the experienced play of the backcourt of Gibbs and Wanamaker to offset the Rams' 14 3-pointers.
Delroy James scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half for Rhode Island, which trailed 76-74 with 1:41 to play before Pitt finished it off by making seven of eight free throws.
No. 13 Illinois 79, UC-Irvine 65
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Reserve Brandon Paul scored all of his 18 points on 3-pointers to lead Illinois in the opening round of the 2K Sports Classic.
Paul, a sophomore guard, hit his first five 3-point attempts as the Illini opened a 42-18 halftime lead.
He sparked what had been a sluggish Illinois offense, hitting on three straight early possessions as the Illini opened a 17-5 lead with 12:56 to play in the first half.
UC-Irvine shot 6 of 26 from the field in the first half (23.1 percent).
Darren Moore led the Anteaters with 18 points, while Patrick Rembert added 12.
Demetri McCamey had 13 points and eight assists for Illinois.