It took the Pitt Panthers basketball team a little longer than they may have liked, but they finally got a game that counted.
Pitt, who saw their hopeful season opener against Gonzaga in Japan called at halftime, officially opened its season Tuesday night with an 84-43 victory over St. Joseph’s (IN) College at the Petersen Events Center.
While it was a major step down in competition from No. 9 Gonzaga, Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon got a lot of guys some playing time and was happy they finally got one in the books.
“It was good to be back home and good to get back at it,” said Dixon. “The guys handled the trip well and we practiced very well yesterday. We came out sluggish shooting the ball but we got in a rhythm and the second half we did some good things. This whole week has been good for us.”
Pitt was led in scoring by Michael Young with 16. Young also added 12 rebounds. It was the sixth time in his career that Young posted a double-double. The junior also led the Panthers with six assists.
“I thought Mike set the tone for us, especially with his passing,” said Dixon. “We missed some shots. He could have had a triple-double.”
Overall Dixon played 14 players, with 12 of them getting in the scoring column.
“We’ve got a lot of good players,” Dixon said. “I like our depth. We still have to figure out the rotation, but we have guys who can play.”
Sheldon Jeter and Cameron Johnson added 10 points apiece for the Panthers while James Robinson added nine points. Jeter also pulled down 10 boards in the win.
Both teams came out sluggish shooting the ball as Pitt built an early lead. The Pumas didn’t make their first shot from the floor until seven minutes into the first half.
The Panthers eventually started executing better at the offensive end of the floor and built up their largest lead of the first half to close the first 20 minutes, heading into the locker room with a 37-23 advantage.
The second half was more of the same for the Panthers as they build up a big lead and Dixon got plenty of guys playing time as Pitt outscored the Pumas 47-20 the final 20 minutes.
The Pumas were led in scoring by Davone Daniels with 10.
“This was an unbelievable experience for us,” said SJC head coach Tom Church. “It was a team bonding experience against an ACC powerhouse. I thought we stuck with them for a while and their size and athleticism eventually wore us down.”
The Pitt defense did a good job defending as they held SJC to only 21 percent shooting (11-of-53).
“I thought we defended pretty well for the most part,” Dixon said.
The win made the Panthers 13-0 in season openers under Dixon and was the first time they have opened up with a Division II school since defeating Northwest Missouri State to open the 1990-91 campaign. Overall it is now 19 consecutive season opening wins for Pitt.
The Panthers will be back in action on Friday when they play host to Detroit.
Game Notes: Pitt shot 47 percent from the floor (33-of-70), 26 percent from behind the arc (6-of-23) and 63 percent (12-of-19 from the free-throw line…Pitt outrebounded SJC 56-35… The Panthers held a 26-2 advantage in second-chance points and a 44-7 edge in bench scoring…Pitt did some damage in the paint, holding a 40-8 edge in points in the paint. Pitt used the same starting lineup as the Gonzaga game- Robinson, Young, Jamel Artis, Sterling Smith and Alonzo Nelson-Ododa.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
