After blowout wins in their opening two games, Jamie Dixon’s Pitt Panthers were sure to be tested more by a very good Lehigh team.
And tested they were.
For a half.
Led by Tray Woodall and Talib Zanna, the Panthers came out of the locker room smoking hot in the second half and turned a close game into a route, defeating the Mountain Hawks 78-53 in Preseason NIT action at the Petersen Events Center.
“That’s a very good team,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. ‘I thought all 10 of us played well and I liked the way we did it- unselfish and we played hard. It was a good day for us.”
Pitt closed the first half well and took a five point lead into the locker room after freshmen Steven Adams converted a tough layup at the buzzer, but outscored Lehigh 28-9 the first 10 minutes of the second half to extend their lead to 24 and put the game out of reach.
“We came out in the second half with a lot of fire,” said Woodall. “We just wanted to get going defensively, get the ball to our big guys and get rolling.”
The Panthers got off to a very nice start and build an early first half lead behind another strong performance from Talib Zanna.
Zanna, who scored a career-high 20 points in the Panthers opener against Mount St. Mary’s, paced the way with 11 first half points, finishing with 20 on the night.
“I just want to take advantage of the opportunities,” said Zanna. “My teammates made some nice plays getting the ball when I was open. After that I just have to knock down shots.”
It was the third straight game a Pitt power forward scored 20 points. Zanna did the trick in the opener and J.J. Moore did the same last night against Fordham.
The battled tested Mountain Hawks fought back though and had a lead for a portion of the first half before the Panthers went on a late run and took some momentum into the locker room.
After that, it was senior point guard Tray Woodall’s turn to shine.
Woodall was the best player on the floor for most of the game and had a nice final 20 minutes, scoring 14 of his 23 points in the second half. At the end of the night, Woodall filled the stat sheet, making 8-of-13 shots, dishing out eight assists and pulling down four rebounds.
“He’s playing so much better defense this year then he has his whole career,” said Dixon. “It starts with him and ball pressure and commitment. He also did a good job of getting to the lane and just overall being a playmaker. We challenged him to be a leader and he’s stepping up and doing what is asked. I’m very happy with his start to the season and he was great tonight.”
With the Petersen Events Center filled with NBA scouts to check out both Adams and Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum, the Panthers, namely freshman James Robinson, did an outstanding job locking up the potential first-round pick.
“He’s a freshman and he had the job of staying with one of the top scorers in the country,” said Woodall. ‘You can’t say enough about the job James did. We challenged him with the assignment and he stepped up big time.”
McCollum scored five points right off the bat, but finished with only 17 points, well below his career average. He did make 7-of-11 shots from the floor, but didn’t have a major impact during the game.
“They did a pretty good job of limiting my touches and helping out defensively,” said McCollum.
With the win, the Panthers advance to the Preseason NIT’s Final Four in Madison Square Garden next week where they will likely take on No. 5 Michigan.
In the first game of the night, Robert Morris got their first win of the season by defeating Fordham 74-58. The Colonials were led by Velton Jones with 18 points and had five players in double-figures.
Pitt will be back in action on Saturday when it hosts Oakland.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
