Nasir Robinson scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half as No. 16 Pittsburgh avoided back-to-back home losses with a 73-69 victory over La Salle at the Petersen Events Center.

Robinson went 8-for-10 from the field for the Panthers (3-1), who needed a late second-half surge to hold off the Explorers (2-2).

Pittsburgh trailed 53-52 with 7:45 left after Steve Zack made one of two free throws for La Salle, but the Panthers responded with a 13-3 run to regain the lead. After stretching the margin to as many as 10, the Explorers cut the deficit to 68-66 with 1:19 remaining.

However, Ashton Gibbs hit a pair of free throws and Travon Woodall made a layup to put help the Panthers, whose 58-game home non-conference winning streak was snapped in an 86-76 loss to Long Beach State last time out.

Gibbs and Woodall combined for 26 points for Pittsburgh, which improved to 15-2 against Atlantic 10 foes under head coach Jamie Dixon.

The Panthers opened the game with a 6-0 spurt and led by as many as 10 early, but turnovers proved costly. La Salle scored 10 points off Pitt miscues and cut the deficit to 28-26 at halftime after a 14-5 run in the final six minutes.

The Explorers, who averaged 80 points in their first three games, were held to 44.8 percent from the field and were outrebounded 37-21. Sam Mills, the Atlantic 10 leader in 3-point percentage, finished with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting and Earl Pettis added a team-high 22 points for La Salle.