Ashton Gibbs tied a career high with 24 points, and No. 2 Pittsburgh sank its final nine free throws to escape with a 65-62 victory over host Rutgers on Saturday night.

Gibbs scored 19 of the first 33 points for Pitt (20-2, 8-1 Big East) before getting help from Gary McGhee, who also matched a career best with 13 points, and the rest of the Panthers, who finished 28 for 35 from the foul line.

Dane Miller's 3-point attempt to tie it in the closing seconds missed the mark for Rutgers (12-9, 3-6), which was vying for its first win over a top-5 opponent.

Jonathan Mitchell, Mike Coburn and Robert Lumpkins, who averaged 3.3 points coming in, each tallied 12 points for the Scarlet Knights, who were blown out by Pitt 83-54 last season.

Pitt had trailed only 18 total minutes in its eight previous Big East games, but fell behind 10-3, and Rutgers led 18 minutes of the first half en route to a 28-27 halftime edge.

Gibbs had 15 first-half points, but Pitt shot 29.2 percent as it continued to struggle following its 56-51 home loss to Notre Dame on Monday.