Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Men's Basketball By ALAN SAUNDERS

Xavier Johnson's 20 Points Lead Pitt Over Rutgers, 71-60

PITTSBURGH (AP) Xavier Johnson scored a season-high 20 points to lead Pitt over Rutgers, 71-60 in the 2019 Big Ten/ACC Challenge Tuesday night.

Johnson finished 8 of 14 shooting and hit 2 of 5 from beyond the 3-point arc. He also recorded a game-high eight assists.

Pitt (7-2) went into the break leading by eight, but the Knights closed the gap early in the second half as the Panthers' shooting touch went cold. The teams played about 10 minutes of tight basketball before Trey McGowens sparked a 13-0 Pitt run.

Johnson had six of Pitt's 13 points on that run and finished with 16 points overall.

Particularly effective after turnovers, Pitt scored 28 of its points off 20 Rutgers giveaways. The Knights scored just 11 points from turnovers.

Rutgers (6-2) once again closed the gap in the final two minutes but couldn't get any closer than seven points.

Myles Johnson, Ron Harper, Jr. and Montez Mathis each had 14 points to share the team lead for Rutgers. Johnson had 14 rebounds and Harper had 10 rebounds, each recording a double-double.

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