Pitt basketball defeats St. Francis, 71-47

The Pitt men’s basketball team (11-1) handily defeated St. Francis University (3-8) Tuesday… The Pitt men’s basketball team (11-1) handily defeated St. Francis University (3-8) Tuesday night.

JJ Moore and Dante Taylor led Pitt to the 71-47 win with 14 and 15 points, respectively.

The Panthers, who entered the game leading the nation in rebounding margin (12) continued their dominance on the glass against St. Francis. Pitt outrebounded the Red Flash 42-21.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 23-point lead against the Red Flash, who entered the game shooting 48 percent from the field. St. Francis missed its first eight shots of the game, and Pitt held the Red Flash 35 percent shooting. It took St. Francis more than six minutes to score its first points.

The Panthers were able to slow the game down and get the ball in the paint to both Taylor and Moore. Easy lay-ups and thunderous dunks by both players contributed to the 44-16 scoring advantage for Pitt in the paint.

With starting point guar Travon Woodall still out and Ashton Gibbs having a relatively quiet night with nine points, Pitt turned once again to the contributions of others. Lamar Patterson shot 4-of-7 from the field and collected 11 points, while Taylor dominated the boards to pull in eight rebounds. Cameron Wright also had eight points.

With the recent departure of Khem Birch, a definitive player rotation has yet to be established for the Panthers.

Tonight, head coach Jamie Dixon tried a line-up with Patterson playing three-guard and Moore playing two-guard. As Big East play approaches, the Panthers will continue to look to their bench for minutes, scoring and solid stretches of defense.

Malcolm Gilbert and Talib Zanna each saw minutes off the bench. Gilbert played 16 minutes, collecting three rebounds, two blocks, and two points. Zanna shot 3-of-5 from the field, grabbed five rebounds, and contributed six points.