Michael Young scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but it was little used Aron Phillips-Nwankwo that helped spark a run that helped the Panthers defeat Florida State.
After being outrebounded by 17 Saturday in a loss to Clemson, Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon promised to use a bigger lineup to try and fix the Panthers rebounding woes.
Nwankwo got 12 minutes off the bench and made them count, sparking a 16-3 second-half run that broke a tie game and helped propel the Panthers to a 73-64 victory over Florida State, the 300th win in Dixon’s career.
The senior broke a 41-41 tie with a layup and subsequent free throw and followed with a big dunk to put Pitt (12-5, 2-2 ACC) up 46-41. Nwankwo finished with seven points off the bench for the Panthers.
“In practice I’m a guy that plays hard and brings energy, plays defense and rebounds,” said Nwankwo. “I just wanted to do the same thing when my number was called. I had a couple plays go my way. It was a good feeling knowing I helped contribute in a big win.”
The Panthers never looked back from there, eventually leading by as many as 13.
It isn’t very often that Dixon and the Panthers play must-win games early on in January, but after a slow start in ACC play, Wednesday’s tilt was as close as it could get for the Panthers.
Dixon’s team came out like it was a must win, showing energy early at both ends of the floor.
“It was a great win for us against a really good team,” said Dixon. “We won the rebounding battle. We paid the price the past couple days in practice. After a slow start we battled back. We had a lot of guys play well, especially Aron. No player has worked harder on improved more the past five years.”
Pitt got off to a quick start from the floor and took the lead on a monster dunk from Chris Jones. But Pitt went into one of its patented scoring droughts right after that as Florida State (9-8, 1-3) put together a 12-2 run to take a 20-10 lead as the Panthers made just 2-of-14 attempts from the floor during a near eight-minute stretch of the first half.
Things could have been worse for the Panthers though. After a hot start from the floor the Seminoles cooled off in a big way as the Pitt defense was able to get stops and Pitt did a nice job rebounding the ball as they fought their way back into the game.
Jones eventually tied the game at 26 with a three pointer with just over two minutes left in the half and the Panthers ended up taking a 33-32 lead into the locker room when Young put back a James Robinson missed layup.
“We really tried to get the message across the past two days and our guys responded,” said Dixon. “We did a better job defensively in the second half and came out and made some shots.”
After getting outrebounded by 17 Saturday against Clemson, the Panthers finished a plus-eight on the glass, outrebounding FSU 39-31 on the night, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds in the process. The offensive rebounding led to 19 second-chance points for the Panthers on the night, compared to just eight for FSU.
“I just took it all on me,” said Young, who pulled down eight offensive rebounds on the night. “It felt great. These last two practices we have been getting after it and have been very physical. When you get outrebounded by 17 it is embarrassing. I took it real personal. We had to get after it and it showed tonight.”
In addition to a big night from Young, both Jones (15), Jamel Artis (13) and Cameron Wright (10) scored in double figures for the Panthers.
Florida State was led by Phil Cofer, who finished the evening with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Devon Bookert also added 13 for the Seminoles.
“They did a tremendous job on the offensive boards,” said Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton. “They got a lot of put backs and took advantage of every mistake we made tonight. We had opportunities but we couldn’t finish.”
The Panthers will be back in action on Saturday when they will play host to Georgia Tech at the Petersen Events Center as Dixon will try and get win No. 301.
“I’m very fortunate and grateful,” said Dixon. “I haven’t really put it into perspective, but I know it reflects in being in a place for a very long time. I’m thankful to be around a lot of great people and have a lot of great kids.”
Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire/ USA Today Sports
