Despite leading 55-50 with eight minutes to go and holding a lead throughout the majority of the half, the Scarlet Knights could not pull off the upset over the Pittsburgh Panthers and send Athletic Director Robert Mulcahy out on a high note on his last day at the RAC.

The Scarlet Knights lost a close contest at a sold out stadium 78-72 behind an 18-point from Pitt’s Sam Young. For Rutgers, freshman Mike Rosario – who was named Big East Freshman of the Week after his 26-point performance against North Carolina – stayed hot and led all scorers with 22 points. The Knights also got help from sophomore guard Corey Chandler who had 17 points and eight rebounds after struggling mightily in his last few games.

The downfall for Rutgers came in the second half when their shooting percentage dropped from 61.5 percent in the first to just 29 percent. Junior center Hamady N’diaye also played just 24 minutes and had zero points because of severe foul trouble.