It didn’t take long for Jamie Dixon’s Pitt Panthers basketball team to get their first real “Welcome to the ACC,” moment.
But after digging themselves an early hole, seniors Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna turned in huge second halves to lead Pitt to a 74-62 victory over North Carolina State in the long awaited first ACC game in program history.
Patterson scored 22 points, 17 in the second half, to go along with eight rebounds and six assists, while Zanna chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds as Pitt shook off a slow start to shoot 63 percent from the floor in the second half.
Most of that production came in the paint, where Pitt (13-1, 1-0 ACC) kept getting good looks around the rim to wrestle back control from the Wolfpack (10-4, 0-1). The Panthers finished with 26 of their 34 points in the paint after halftime.
Patterson shot 8-for-16 from the field and hit two 3-pointers, including one to beat the shot clock over Desmond Lee to give Pitt a 66-53 lead with 4:32 left and basically put the game out of reach.
It all wasn’t easy as the score would suggest as the Panthers got punched right in the face early on as before you knew it the Wolfpack were on top 17-2 and on their way to embarrassing the Panthers.
N.C. State started the game 6-for-8 from the floor, with nine quick points coming from T.J. Warren as everything was going the way of the Pack.
However Dixon made the switch to a zone, which has become a real weapon for the Panthers so far this season.
Pitt responded with a 13-2 run of their own to pull within 21-15, most of which came as the result of scoring nine points off forcing seven NC State turnovers.
The zone slowed North Carolina State down, while it allowed Pitt to speed up the game at the other end of the floor.
Pitt’s leading scorer Patterson struggled to get going in the first half, dropping just five points and with point guard James Robinson in foul trouble, Pitt had to get back into the game needing production from other areas.
Freshmen Jamel Artis and Josh Newkirk played a big role in the comeback as they combined for 11 early points to keep Pitt in the game.
However the Wolfpack had one more burst in them and went up by double digits again, before taking a 34-26 lead at the half.
But the Panthers came out of the locker room on fire, using a 24-8 burst to take control of the game.
Pitt started the second half by making 12 of their first 15 attempts while limiting the Wolfpack to only 4-of-16 from the floor.
Guard Cameron Wright gave the Panthers their first lead of the game at 41-38 with just over 15 minutes left to play when Patterson found him for a layup and a subsequent free throw to complete a three-point play.
Pitt put an exclamation point on their run when Patterson scored on a tough bucket hanging in the air while drawing the foul for a three-point play that made it 50-42 with 13:19 left.
The Panthers eventually extended that lead to 10 at 54-44 on a three pointer from freshman Michael Young, who chipped in a career-high 13 points.
After falling behind 17-2 early, Pitt responded by outscoring the Wolfpack 50-25 in taking the double-digit lead.
North Carolina State was able to keep the game in the six to eight point range for much of the second half before Zanna completed a three-point play to push the lead to 11. The next trip down the floor Patterson supplied the dagger with his big three as the shoot clock expired.
Warren finished with 23 points to lead N.C. State, while Ralston Turner had 11.
It marked the first time the Wolfpack lost an ACC opener under third-year coach Mark Gottfried and gave the Panthers their first true road win of the season.
Pitt will resume ACC play on Monday when they host their first ever league game when they play host to Maryland.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
