Pitt improved to 5-1 with a 72-56 win against visiting Youngstown State (3-3, 0-0Horizon League) in front of a quiet crowd of 10,135 at the Petersen Events Center at noon on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers (5-1, 0-0 Big East) seemed as flat as the crowd through the first half as most of the students were home for Thanksgiving break and the season-ticket holders seemed exhausted after watching Friday night’s Pitt-WVU football game.
“We still have some things to improve on, but you expect that on November 28,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. “I really anticipate our team to be a balanced scoring team.”
Four Panthers scored in double figures led by Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker, who scored 14 each. Gary McGhee scored 12 and Nasir Robinson added 10. McGhee and Robinson also pulled down 10 rebounds each.
Gibbs only took two shots in the first half and missed them both. He had two points on two free throws before the break. After the half, he found some rhythm and hit two back-to-back three-pointers midway through the second half that helped fuel a Pitt breakout.
“They closed out on me well and forced some bad turnovers and bad decision-making on me early,” Gibbs said. “ When I hit those two three’s, I was just taking advantage of what the defense gave me and my teammates did a good job in helping me get some open shots. That was the first time I was left wide open in the game.”
The Panthers led 34-28 at the break as they had trouble finding any rhythm on offense due to the pesky Penguin defense. After Dixon made adjustments at the half, Pitt started to bounce back in the second half, then pulled away with about nine minutes left, much to the chagrin of Youngstown State head coach Jerry Slocum.
“I thought we played good for 30 minutes but the last 10 minutes we missed some free throws and the way we played there was the difference in the game,” Slocum said. “Our execution was encouraging in the first half, discouraging in the second half. Obviously this [Pitt] is a great program with a great tradition.”
Pitt has always been known for rebounding, so after a slow start in earlier games this year, Dixon has focused on rebounding, and the strategy has paid off. The Panthers out-rebounded the Penguins 38-22.
“We’ve really been emphasizing rebounding the last couple of weeks and that showed today,” Dixon said. “This [Youngstown State] is an experienced team, a pretty good rebounding team with big players and they play a lot of bodies. “
The Panther will now prepare to face cross-town rival Duquesne in the “City Game” on Wednesday in the last basketball game that will be played at the Mellon Arena.
For further information: Pitt web site Youngstown State web site
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