Men’s Basketball: Panthers launch season with easy win

Tray Woodall does a pretty good Ashton Gibbs impression. The redshirt junior scored 25…

Tray Woodall does a pretty good Ashton Gibbs impression. So good, in fact, that Albany head coach Will Brown questioned whether the two Pitt guards switched jerseys.

“I thought that Gibbs was wearing number one … the way Woodall shot the ball,” Brown said.

The redshirt junior scored 25 points and added 10 assists on Friday night against Albany, propelling the Panthers to an 89-56 win in their first game of the season.

Woodall dished out eight assists in the first half, most of which resulted in easy layups for the Panthers’ big men. Pitt scored 19 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes.

But it was Woodall’s offensive prowess that came as the biggest surprise. Woodall, who averaged just 6.5 points per game last season, connected on 9-of-13 shots — including five 3-pointers.

“It felt good,” Woodall said. “I’ve been working on my shot. A lot of guys have been keying in on Ashton [Gibbs], so I’ve got to be ready to knock down shots.”

Although Coach Brown said he was surprised by Woodall’s scoring performance, Gibbs said that he wasn’t.

“It’s what we expect,” Gibbs said. “It’s nothing new. He just took what the defense gave him.”

Head coach Jamie Dixon said that Woodall had been practicing very well leading up to Friday night’s game, adding that he was pleased with his point guard’s ability to recognize and take good shots.

“I talked to him today about playing really patient,” Dixon said. “He had 13 shots — all good shots, all wide-open looks. Ashton did the same.”

Gibbs finished with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He tied his career-high with seven assists, a stat he attributes to the defense’s playing him extra tight.

“They keyed in on me a couple times, and I passed the ball. My teammates knocked down shots,” he said.

Pitt captured the momentum early thanks to Dante Taylor’s put-back dunk on the game’s first possession. The Panthers raced out to a 13-3 lead, scoring seven unanswered points and forcing three turnovers in the first five minutes. The game blew open from there.

Mid-way through the first half, Albany transitioned into a 1-2-2 full-court press to slow down the Panthers’ relentless offense. It proved ineffective as Pitt continued to increase its lead.

Seconds before the half ended, Woodall corralled a pass from Gibbs and knocked down a 3-pointer to put his team up 21.

Pitt led 47-26 at halftime.

The second half was as one-sided as the first. Pitt’s lead increased to 30 points with five minutes to play when Dixon took out his starters.

Twelve players logged minutes for the Panthers. True freshman Khem Birch – a top-ranked recruit in high school – scored two points and pulled down three boards in 17 minutes of action. Fellow freshman John Johnson contributed eight points.

Pitt shot 54 percent from the field and 59 percent from beyond the arc, while holding Albany to 43 percent shooting. The Great Danes turned the ball over 11 times.

Gerardo Suero led the Great Danes with 17 points. Albany will face another Big East team in Syracuse on Tuesday.

Pitt plays Rider at home on Sunday at 6 p.m.

The Panthers’ victory added to what was already a successful day for the program. Earlier, Pitt signed Steven Adams – a 7-foot center and consensus top-ten recruit from New Zealand – and point guard James Robinson from DeMatha High School in Maryland. Pitt’s 2011-2012 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 11 nationally.