The No. 17 Pitt men’s basketball team defeated La Salle at the Petersen Events Center on… The No. 17 Pitt men’s basketball team defeated La Salle at the Petersen Events Center on Tuesday Night. But it wasn’t pretty, and it definitely wasn’t convincing.
With La Salle trailing by just three points with seconds left in the game, Explorer guard Sam Mills attempted to drive to the basket on a fast break. But Pitt point guard Travon Woodall blocked the shot that sealed a 73-69 victory for Pitt.
“I just didn’t want to give him the easy lay up,” Woodall said. “Normally I would go up and contest the shot but at this time in the game we needed a stop. I didn’t want to give up a lay up. Coach Dixon always preaches no layup.”
Coming off just its second home non-conference loss in the 10-year history of the Petersen Events Center, the Panthers (3-1) played sloppy in the first half, turning the ball over six times in the first eight minutes of the game. Pitt has been plagued by a lack of consistency on both offense and defense in the first four games of this season and the team’s cohesiveness is still developing.
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La Salle (2-2) took a brief 53-52 lead with 7:45 remaining, but the Panthers responded with a 9-0 scoring run and took a 61-53 lead with 4:21 remaining. But the Explorers fought back and still had a chance to tie or win the game in the final seconds.
J.J. Moore provided a spark off the bench for the Panthers, finishing the game with nine points and shooting 3-3 from beyond the arc.
“Coach just wants me to get out there and get involved, and play as a team,” Moore said. “Everybody told me to have confidence and go out there and play hard,” Moore said.
Gibbs–the team’s usual leading scorer–scored his first points of the night with 1:30 remaining in the first half. He finished 3-15 from the field and 1-4 from the 3-point line.
He threw up an air ball on his first 3-point attempt. On the second, the ball barely skimmed the front of the rim.
Gibbs was shut down in large part due to the defense of La Salle guard Sam Mills, who La Salle head coach Dr. John Giannini called one of the top defensive guards in the country.
It seemed as if every Pitt play was erased only seconds later by a poor shot, a missed opportunity or a foul. Ten of La Salle’s 26 first half points came from Panther turnovers.
Seconds before the end of the first half, Pitt missed a long shot from the field, and a tipped rebound sent the Explorers coast to coast for two more points. The Panthers entered the break with a slim 28-26 lead.
Despite the close score, the Panthers held the Explorers to only 36 percent in first half shooting.
“I thought our half-court defense was very good,” Dixon said. “We want to keep our field goal percentage defense lower than 43 percent. Our rebounding is better, but our offense is not where it needs to be. I think that’s to be expected at this time of the year.”
When starting center Dante Taylor exited the game after getting elbowed in the throat early in the first half, freshman Khem Birch stepped in, and made a serious case for more minutes through his efforts on the court.
Birch finished with six points, three blocks and six rebounds–four offensive–on the night.
Not only is he playing the type of defense Dixon expects, but his teammates noticing him, too.
“It helps to show he is coming along in the system,” Taylor said. “It is not easy for freshman to come in right away. Tonight it clicked for him, and I hope that continues.”
After struggling on the boards in the loss to Long Beach State, the Panthers outrebounded La Salle 42-24.
“Last game we were outrebounded. We don’t accept that,” Taylor said. “We’re a rebounding team. When this game came, we knew we had to go hard, and continue being aggressive.”
Despite the team’s struggles, four Panther players scored in double digits in the contest. Woodall had 12 points, Robinson contributed 17 points, Gibbs added 14 and Taylor with put up 11. Woodall added 10 assists for his third double-double of the season.
Earl Pettis led La Salle with 22 points. Devon White and Mills who each contributed 12 points.
The team is back in action on Friday in the Philly Hoop Group Classic against the University of Pennsylvania Quakers at the Palestra. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
“Nobody is what they want to be in November, but I really feel we have a lot of opportunities to improve and a lot of things we can do better,” said Dixon.