Men’s Basketball: Bench leads Pitt to win over VMI

With starting point guard Tray Woodall sidelined for the second straight game, Pitt men’s… With starting point guard Travon Woodall sidelined for the second straight game, head coach Jamie Dixon called on his younger players to step up their production.

He got his wish.

Sophomore J.J. Moore and freshman John Johnson provided a surge off the bench, scoring 16 and 13 points respectively in Pitt’s 97-70 rout of Virginia Military Institute on Tuesday night.

Moore,who averaged 5.3 points per game prior to Tuesday night’s game, knocked down four 3-pointers, and Johnson shot a perfect 3-3 from both the field and the foul line in the first half. Together, the underclassmen paced Pitt to 57 points in the opening 20 minutes — a Petersen Events Center record.

“Coach told me to be ready,” Moore said. “He said to just play hard on defense and you’ll get your shots on offense.”

Johnson said that VMI’s fast-paced style played in to his personal uptempo play.

“I like to run,” he said. “We usually play teams that like to slow it down, so it was good to play against a team that likes to run up and down.”

But Dixon said that Johnson’s patience impresses him the most. The freshman attempted only five shots from the field and added five assists to go along with one turnover.

“John’s really become really patient offensively, letting things come to him,” Dixon said. “That’s a good thing to see from a freshman. He took good shots, although I thought we took a few too many threes early. That was something we tried to address at halftime.”

The Panther bench, led by Johnson and Moore, outscored the Keydets 34-33 in the first half.

Senior Ashton Gibbs, who led the Panthers with 20 points, went 1-7 from long-range in the first half, but he warmed up late. He finished 6-15 from beyond the arc and hit three consecutive 3-point shots in the second half.

Dixon said that Gibbs’ shooting percentage might drop while he takes over point guard duties for the injured Woodall. Playing the point gives Gibbs more responsibilities, Dixon said, such as involving his teammates.

Pitt finished 13-33 from beyond the arc.

With the game in Pitt’s favor early, Dixon reached deep into his bench. Twelve players, including redshirt freshman Isaiah Epps and redshirt senior walk-on Nick Rivers, logged minutes for the Panthers.

Rivers, who usually plays near the end of games when the Panthers have a large lead, subbed in with a minute remaining in the first half against the Keydets — a move Dixon said he would have made even if the game was close.

“With Travon being out, we have to find another guard that can play some minutes,” Dixon said. “I feel comfortable with John [Johnson] and Cameron [Wright] playing that two-spot for us, so we got to get somebody to play some minutes for us at the point. Nick [Rivers] and Isaiah [Epps] have been battling each other. It was good to get them in there and get them some action.”

Dante Taylor and Nasir Robinson also finished with double figures for the Panthers. Taylor had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Robinson, who picked up his second straight double-double before halftime, finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

“I knew [Robinson] was good, but I didn’t know he was that effective,” VMI head coach Duggar Baucon said. “I think Robinson is a stud. We knew he was going to be a beast. He does a lot of things.”

Pitt dominated the paint throughout the game, outrebounding VMI 60-31 – 28 more than they had against Tennessee.

“Obviously the rebounding stands out,” Dixon said. “I think our depth is helping us out in that direction. I think we’re going to be a very good rebounding team. We’re going to get there, but I don’t think we’re there yet.”