Recap: St Johns vs. Pittsburgh

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Ashton Gibbs made four three-pointers on his way to a team-high 20 points as Pittsburgh knocked off St. John's, 73-59, in the opening round of the Big East Tournament.

Nasir Robinson netted 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and added eight rebounds, while Lamar Patterson had nine points and five boards for the 13th-seeded Panthers (17-15), who will play fifth-seeded Georgetown in Wednesday's second round.

Moe Harkless paced all scorers with 25 points and contributed nine boards for the 12th-seeded Red Storm (13-19), while D'Angelo Harrison had a double-double with 12 points to go with 10 rebounds. God'sgift Achiuwa grabbed a game-high 12 boards in defeat.

Pitt shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the floor while holding SJU to a 33.3 percent (22-of-66) mark.

After a tightly contested first half, Pittsburgh pulled away early in the second. Up five at intermission, the Panthers began the half on a 15-8 run to take a 48-36 advantage.

Patterson made baskets on consecutive possessions, Robinson knocked down jumpers on back-to-back trips down the floor and Gibbs and John Johnson drained treys during the spurt.

The Red Storm failed to make a significant run in the ensuing 12 minutes, as Pitt led by double-digits until the buzzer sounded.

SJU's Sir'Dominic Pointer and Amir Garrett had eight points apeice before fouling out in the final minutes.

Pittsburgh held a 33-28 edge at halftime.