By Sean Coyne / Staff writer

In an old-fashioned Big East powerhouse shoot-out, Connecticut came out on top of the Pitt men’s basketball team 53-60 in Saturday’s rivalry match in Hartford, Conn.

This latest conference loss may be the one that finally knocks Pitt (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today) out of the Top 25 polls.

As with the Rutgers loss at home last week, the Panthers’ kept Connecticut in check throughout the first half.

Pitt jumped out to a five-point lead within the first three minutes of the game. As UConn went 1-7 from the floor during the first 5 minutes of the game, the unranked Huskies seemed to be playing up to their expected potential.

Pitt’s largest lead of the first half came with 4:30 remaining when junior Sam Young made both of his free throws. The two freebies made the score 21-13.

However, an eight-point lead in the Big East means very little this year.

The first half ended deadlocked at 22-22. The score was eerily similar to the Jan. 6 Pitt at Villanova 30-30 halftime score, and the 28-27 halftime lead at Cincinnati on Jan. 19. Pitt went on to lose both of those conference road games.

Connecticut had history on their side as they came out for the second half, but in the wild-west style that is Big East conference play, Pitt wasn’t going down as easily as the Huskies may have hoped.

The score was tied five times, the lead changed seven times and the largest lead for Pitt was 39-34 at the 10:52 mark when freshman DeJuan Blair sank a layup.

The Huskies would turn around and outscore Pitt 21-14 in the next nine minutes of play.

When Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon called a timeout with 59 seconds remaining, the Huskies led 56-53. Dixon may have drafted up a brilliant 3-point play for the Panthers, but the Huskies read the setup perfectly.

The Panthers came down the floor with senior Ronald Ramon at point guard. Ramon dished the ball into the paint and then ran left. Immediately, Ramon got the ball back and eyed up 3-pointer. The Huskies had him covered, however, so Ramon passed the ball under the hoop and the Panthers tried the same play again.

The Huskies weren’t fooled. Ramon shot with a man in his face. The ball hit the rim and was rebounded by the Huskies.

Pitt’s foul-and-get-the-ball-back strategy failed from then on in and they didn’t score a point in the last minute of the game. The Huskies put up four points from the charity stripe, setting the final score at 60-53.

Sam Young finished with a team-high 18 points, followed by DeJuan Blair with 13 and freshman Gilbert Brown with 10. Ramon, who averages 7.8 points per game, finished with only 3.

Huskies’ junior A.J. Price exploded for 21 points. Juniors Jeff Adrien put up 14 and Craig Austrie put up 13 in the Huskies fifth straight win. Three of those wins came against ranked opponents.

Both teams’ benches were stagnant, resulting with six total bench points between the two clubs.

UConn out-rebounded Pitt 29-27, but turned the ball over 14 times to Pitt’s 9.

Pitt, now 17-5 overall, has only lost to a Top 25 team once against Villanova. The losses to unranked opponents -Dayton, Cincinnati, Rutgers, and Connecticut - may have Pitt fans uneasy come tournament time.

All 16 Big East teams are guaranteed a spot in the conference tournament this year and with four of Pitt’s five losses coming to conference teams, a run at the championship doesn’t seem likely.

UConn is now 6-3 in the Big East, which puts them in a three-way tie for third place with Marquette and Louisville. Pitt is now tied for 5th with rival West Virginia. The ‘Eers also happen to be Pitt’s next opponent this Thursday.

The conference loss puts the Panthers one game above .500 in the Big East at 5-4. Before the Rutgers loss, Pitt was ranked second in the Big East conference behind Georgetown. The loss will most likely knock Pitt out of the Top 25 rankings after being ranked as high as 6th in the nation in week seven of the season.

And you thought the Pitt Fall was just a ride at Kennywood.