IU outmatched by Panthers

BOSTON - Pittsburgh's defense put the Panthers in the round of 16 for the second consecutive year and ended Indiana's hopes of back-to-back trips to the NCAA title game.\nJaron Brown scored 20 points, and Brandin Knight added 17 points, seven assists and five steals Sunday as second-seeded Pittsburgh beat Indiana 74-52 to advance to the Midwest Regional semifinals.\nThe Panthers (28-4) will play third-seeded Marquette in Minneapolis.\nIndiana trailed by one late in the first half before Brown hit a 3-pointer and Knight made a pair to give Pitt the last nine points of the half.\nIndiana, a seventh seed, had a similar stumble at a similar time of their opening round game against Alabama before overcoming an 11-point halftime deficit to beat the Crimson Tide 67-62.\nThis time, the deficit was more than a temporary setback for the Hoosiers (21-13), who lost in the championship game to Maryland last year.\nBracey Wright, who scored all of his 17 points in the second half against Alabama, had nine of his 11 in the second against Pitt - not enough. Tom Coverdale, who led Indiana with 23 in the first round, had just six.\nGeorge Leach scored 15, and Wright added eight rebounds for the Hoosiers, but they also turned the ball over 16 times for 18 Pitt points.\nIt was the 11th consecutive victory for Pitt and the sixth time in seven games that the Big East champions held an opponent under 60 points. The only exception was an 87-61 first-round victory over Wagner.\nIndiana trailed just 22-21 when Brown and Knight each hit a 3-pointer to make it a seven-point game. After another Indiana turnover, the Hoosiers called timeout with 3:08 left in the half, but Knight hit another 3 to make it 31-21 at the break.\nIndiana cut it to four in the second when Wright took a long pass for a layup and a foul; he missed the free throw, but got the rebound and scored in the lane to make it 36-32.\nIndiana was within seven when Brown dunked to make it 52-43 with 6:49 left, then Julius Page stole the ball at the other end. He hit a 3-pointer to give the Panthers a 12-point lead, and it was never close again.