Men’s Basketball: Pitt offense shines in dominant season-opening win

The Pitt men’s basketball team began its season in dominant fashion Friday, dismantling the Mount St. Mary’s “40 minutes of mayhem” en route to an emphatic 80-48 victory over the Mountaineers at the Petersen Events Center.

Redshirt junior Talib Zanna led all scorers with 20 points on 10-for-12 shooting, while senior point guard Tray Woodall guided the Panthers’ offense with 14 points and six assists in 31 minutes of action — the most of any Panther player that night. Freshman center Steven Adams made his regular-season debut as a starter, scoring eight points, pulling in eight rebounds and blocking four shots.

Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon was pleased with his team’s performance in the season opener.

“First game, I thought we did some really good things,” Dixon said after the game. “I thought two teams played really hard. It was an entertaining game to watch. The energy was terrific.”

The energy the Panthers brought to the floor resulted in 16 turnovers by the Mountaineers, off which the Panthers scored 24 points. Pitt also frequently got out on the fast break, as evidenced by the 20 points scored in transition.

Woodall said getting easy buckets in transition was something that was stressed in practice this past week, as well as pressuring the ball defensively.

“We wanted to stop them in transition,” he said. “As far as the offensive end, having two point guards out there — myself and James [Robinson] — we wanted to make sure we get out and run, make sure we make smart decisions and make sure we get guys shots.”

And as far as getting easy baskets goes, Pitt did just that Friday. Of the Panthers’ 80 total points in the contest, 58 of those came inside the painted area. Zanna was the primary beneficiary of that, as Woodall found him multiple times for easy dunks and lay-ups.

“We were moving the ball around well,” Woodall said. “We didn’t want to settle for threes. We wanted to make sure we got inside. We have big guys who can finish and we have guards who can attack and get to the basket.”

Complementing the efforts of Woodall and the rest of the starting unit was a strong performance by the Pitt bench, which combined to post 32 points. Junior Trey Zeigler — a transfer from Central Michigan making his debut for the Panthers — led the bench’s efforts, scoring 11 points.

Zanna, Woodall and Zeigler were the only Panthers to score in double digits as Pitt exhibited a very balanced scoring attack.

Also off the bench, junior forward J.J. Moore finished with nine points, redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Wright added eight and senior forward Dante Taylor contributed four points and two rebounds.

With nine Panthers receiving significant playing time, Dixon highlighted his team’s depth as one of Pitt’s strongest features.

“We’ve got a good rotation. I think anyone can lead us in scoring at any time,” Dixon said.

Early in the game, the Mountaineers came out firing, hitting six of their first eight attempts from 3-point range and taking an 18-17 lead with 11:53 remaining in the first half.

First-year Mount St. Mary’s head coach Jamion Christian — the creator of the team’s “40 minutes of mayhem” philosophy — said he was happy with how his team started the game.

“I was really pleased with how our guys played the first 11 minutes of the game. I think that was a small microcosm of what you’re going to see for the duration of the year,” Christian said.

But the Panthers quickly retook the lead and held the Mountaineers to only 1-for-13 shooting the rest of the first half and most importantly, 0-for-7 from behind the arc. The defensive improvement helped Pitt carry a 42-25 lead into the break.

Pitt extended the lead in the second half, holding the Mountaineers scoreless for the first five minutes as the Panthers steadily increased their advantage.

The Panthers will return to the floor in the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament Monday at 6 p.m. when they host Fordham at the Petersen Events Center in the opening game of the tournament.