Blair, Young help Pitt cruise
By: Adam Littman and Emily Steiner / Staff Writers
Posted on 24. Nov, 2008 in Uncategorized
Pitt 86, Akron 67
The Pitt men's basketball team might have had its worst shooting night of the year, but season highs in offensive rebounds and second-chance points helped the Panthers take down Akron 86-67 Friday night at the Petersen Events Center.
Pitt shot 45 percent from the field but hauled in 22 offensive rebounds and 41 total '- both season bests.
'That's always our goal, to outrebound a team,' said Pitt sophomore DeJuan Blair.
The Akron Hawks (2-1) had 24 rebounds total.
'We were just manhandled,' said Akron coach Keith Dambrot.
Sam Young scored a season-high 26 points -- 16 of which came in the first half -- to lead all scorers.
'If you think DeJuan Blair is a beast, Sam Young is no picnic either,' said Dambrot, who then compared Young's physicality to Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James.
'He's a tough matchup.'
Blair recorded his second double-double of the year, scoring 16 to go with his 13 rebounds. Eight of those rebounds were offensive. Blair also led the team with five steals and tied for second-best on the team with two assists.
'He's got quick hands,' said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. 'He likes to gamble.'
Levance Fields scored a season-high 19 points and had seven assists to just one turnover. The Panthers' top three players have all scored double figures each game this season.
Senior Tyrell Biggs pulled down a season-best 11 rebounds and notched six points. Freshman Ashton Gibbs scored five while Brad Wannamaker, Jermaine Dixon and Nasir Robinson all scored four.
Pitt 86, IUP 60
At one point in the first half of Saturday's 86-60 win against Indiana (Pa.), DeJuan Blair had put up more points than the entire Crimson Hawks had on the scoreboard.
'Today was just a party I guess,' said Blair. 'But I was the only one dancing.'
When it was all said and done, Blair, who played 21 minutes, had 27 points, 18 rebounds and, apparently, a whole lot of fun.
Blair and the Panthers met up with former teammate Maurice Polen on the court, who practiced with Blair a lot last year and is playing for Indiana as a senior.
'[Blair] played phenomenally,' said Polen. 'I didn't expect anything less.'
Joe Lombardi, head coach at Indiana and a former Pitt assistant, definitely felt Blair's pressure.
'Was that DeJuan?' joked Lombardi. 'I thought that was Shaq. DeJuan was a man in waiting last year. He's arrived.'
Pitt's win was its 100th at the Petersen Events Center.
For the first seven minutes of the game, the Crimson Hawks were nowhere to be found. The team missed seven shots, and Pitt was running up and down the court, driving the score to 21-0 before Indiana's Julian Sanders scored from behind the arc.
From there, IUP went on a 13-2 run, prompting coach Jamie Dixon to keep the starters in. Blair dunked and Sam Young shot at the buzzer, leaving the game at 45-17 at halftime.
Tyrell Biggs, who ended the day with 10 points, started the scoring in the second half. Blair followed with a layup that started the Panthers on a seven-point scoring run.
With the Panthers up by more than 20 points, nearly everyone on Pitt's roster saw playing time in the second half, including the fans' picks, sophomores Ryan Tiesi and Tim Frye.
Freshmen Travon Woodall, Ashton Gibbs and Nasir Robinson all saw significant playing time without teammate Jermaine Dixon, who sat more than usual because of a hamstring issue.
The Panthers play again tomorrow when Belmont visits, and they will finish up the Legends Classic next weekend in Newark, N.J.
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