Khem Birch recorded a double-double in his first career start as Pitt defeated Penn at the… Khem Birch recorded a double-double in his first career start as Pitt defeated Penn at the Palestra on Friday night.

Birch scored 15 points and added 10 rebounds, leading the Panthers to a 78-58 win over the Quakers. Four Panthers reached double figures–Ashton Gibbs led Pitt with 16 points, Nasir Robinson added 14 points and J.J. Moore chipped in 12 points.

The Panthers finally pulled away from an opponent after struggling with Rider, falling to Long Beach State and failing to defeat La Salle convincingly.

Starting center Dante Taylor and starting small forward Lamar Patterson didn’t play. Reports said Taylor was suffering from migraines and Patterson is serving a two-game suspension.

With 11:41 remaining in the second half, Penn’s Zach Rosen hit a 3-pointer to cut Pitt’s lead to eight, 51-43. Talib Zanna answered with a dunk off a pass from Travon Woodall and then Gibbs and Moore hit two consecutive 3-pointers. After a Nasir Robinson jump shot, the Panthers held a convincing 61-47 lead.

The Quakers never got the score back to single digits again.

Rosen scored a game-high 22 points and often kept the Quakers in the game by shooting 6-10 from beyond the arc.