St. Francis (PA) Red Flash Related Links: Team Page Schedule Stats

Pittsburgh Panthers Related Links: Team Page Schedule Stats

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Another non-conference opponent, another victory for No. 14 Pittsburgh.

Chevy Troutman scored 22 points as the Panthers posted their 19th straight win over a non-Big East opponent, a 65-41 triumph over St. Francis.

Unbeaten against teams from different conferences since January 4, 2003, Pittsburgh (4-0) struggled early against St. Francis, falling behind, 17-14, midway through the first half.

But the Panthers, who improved to 61-0 against Northeast Conference opponents, stormed back against the Red Flash with an 11-0 run consisting of 3-pointers by Yuri Demetris and Antonio Graves and five free throws by Troutman.

"We went stale there for a few minutes," St. Francis coach Bobby Jones said.

Jones and the rest of the Red Flash also acknowledged the impressive play of Troutman as the reason for their downfall.

"He's a very good basketball player," Jones said. "He's having a great senior year. We knew coming in that Chevy would be very controlling down low."

"He had a lot of put backs and grabbed a lot of boards," center Jason Osborne added. "He had a good game. He's a good player."

Troutman, who averaged 15 points through the Panthers' first three games, was 8-of-11 from the field and gathered 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and the sixth of his career.

"Everyone knows how I feel about Chevy the past five years and what he's done for the program," Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. "He's been as valuable as any player we've had. Nobody has given more. His contributions have gone beyond the numbers."

"Chevy's one of the most underrated postmen in the nation," said Panthers guard Carl Krauser, who scored 10 points. "He has a very high field-goal percentage down low. He makes most of his layups and his free throws. He can shoot almost anywhere he wants to. He's a good all-around player."

Raising its all-time record against St. Francis (2-2) to 28-0, Pittsburgh never looked back, building a 34-23 lead at halftime and outscoring the Red Flash, 31-18, in the final 20 minutes.

"We went on a little run in the first half and again in the second half as well," Dixon said. "We came on when they didn't play very good defense and, of course, Chevy came through."

Shooting just 7-of-29 from the arc in his career, Troutman scored Pittsburgh's first points of the second half with a 3-pointer, giving the Panthers a 37-25 lead.

"I felt real happy," Krauser said of Troutman's success on the shot. "I felt like I just dunked the ball. Chevy works so hard on that shot."

Darshan Luckey scored 19 points and Osborne collected nine rebounds for St. Francis, which completed a three-game road trip and begins a four-game homestand Saturday against Central Connecticut State.