For Jamie Dixon’s Pitt Panthers, there’s no place like home.
Jamel Artis put together a complete performance, scoring a career-high 20 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out five assists, as Pitt defeated Manhattan 65-56 Wednesday night at the Petersen Events Center.
The win was Pitt’s third in a row and the second game in the past four days that Pitt (7-3) has gotten to play on its home floor, after going nearly a month on the road, playing six games without a home contest.
“It’s good for practice and it’s good to be back in a routine,” said Dixon. “It’s good for your team. We have had a unique schedule for us. I looked at the standings in the ACC and we have played the fewest home games by far. That’s just how the schedule presented itself, but it is good to be home and back in a normal routine.”
Things started slow for both teams, but the Panthers were able to turn their defense into offense.
Pitt forced 12 Manhattan (2-7) first-half turnovers and turned those into 15 of their first 22 points as they built a 26-21 halftime lead, the lowest output the Jaspers have put up in any half in a game this season.
The Panthers offense picked up the pace to begin the second half, making eight of their first 11 attempts from the floor, extending their lead to 42-31.
“Obviously that’s a real good Pitt team,” said Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello. “We came out a little turnover happy and that hurts a young team. I thought we came out and played too fast. We settled down, but that’s a typical Pitt team. They are good defensively and don’t beat themselves. There’s a reason they are who they are.”
A lot of the Pitt success came by getting big men Michael Young and Artis high percentage looks. Young drained all six shots he attempted from and finished with 16 points, to go along with a career game from Artis.
Artis and Young were both able to make plays once the Jaspers switched to zone as the Panthers had tremendous success getting the ball into the middle of the zone.
“I always think I can go out there and have a big game every night,” said Artis. “My teammates believe in me. It’s just basketball. When they collapse on defense we are going to find the open man. My teammates keep passing me the ball and I’m going to keep trying to make shots. Tonight was a good night.”
When the Panthers weren’t getting the ball to their big man, they were able to lean on senior guard Cameron Wright.
Wright scored 14 points in his third game back from injury, logging 34 minutes of action. He looked much more comfortable on the floor. Wright had scored only one point in his prior two games, playing a total of 22 minutes.
“I was making shots tonight,” said Wright. “I had my first full week of practice this week and just have to thank my teammates for having confidence in me. They did a great job in helping me get re-acclimated.”
A big part of the reason the Pitt offense had success was their willingness to make the extra pass. Pitt assisted on 20 of their 23 field goals led by Artis and James Robinson with five apiece.
That led to a lot of easy looks, ones that Pitt converted as they shot 51.1 percent on the evening.
The Panthers also had one of their better defensive performances of the season. While the Jaspers did shoot 47.7 percent from the floor, Pitt defended the perimeter well, limiting Manhattan to only 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from behind the arc.
Manhattan was led in scoring by Emmy Andujar with 19.
“They are a better team than their record,” said Dixon. “We got better as the game progressed. We shot 65 percent in the second half once we started just taking the open shot. We had the looks we wanted early, but just made them harder than they had to be. We got the message across and settled down nicely.”
Pitt is back in action on Saturday when they play host to Oakland at the Petersen Events Center.
Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
