Basketball: Gibbs, Patterson combine to lead team to win

After the first night of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am Summer League, much of the talk… After the first night of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am Summer League, much of the talk centered on Panther newcomers — mainly incoming freshman John Johnson.

But it wasn’t a freshman that stole the show on Monday night.

As senior Ashton Gibbs froze his defender at the top of the key and pulled up for one his five made 3-pointers, he drew chuckles of appreciation, and a few headshakes of amazement, from the standing-room-only crowd.

Gibbs and SPK Law teammate redshirt sophomore Lamar Patterson put on an impressive performance on Monday as they led their team to an 83-75 victory over UPMC.

But last Wednesday — with Gibbs attending a skills camp in Chicago — SPK wasn’t so lucky. The team fell to UPMC 74-65.

The league features players from schools such as Pitt, West Virginia, Duquesne and Robert Morris as well as former Division I athletes and players from area high schools and other Division I colleges.

The athletes are divided between seven teams and the league holds games every Monday and Wednesday through July 13 — excluding July 4 — and continues with playoffs from July 18 to 20.

Each night features three games beginning at 7 p.m., and admission is free. Due to NCAA rules, that league can’t charge for anything, including admission, parking or programs. Expenses are paid for by corporate sponsors.

The Lair 74, SPK Law 65

Pitt junior Dante Taylor might have arrived a few minutes after tipoff on Monday night, but that didn’t stop him from leading The Lair to a win.

He was dominant inside all night, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

He scored 15 points in the second half, including a jumper from the foul line that showed his range and gave his team a 59-53 advantage.

“I felt good. I just wanted to try and be productive since I was late,” Taylor said.

After the game, Taylor said his goal for the league is to focus on being aggressive, scoring more and rebounding.

Those objectives showed late in the second half as Taylor collected a long rebound, passed off to a teammate and then took the return bounce pass and scored in the post.

With about 12 minutes remaining in the second half, the Lair went on a 6-0 run to put the game out of reach.

Without Gibbs, SPK Law relied on Youngstown State’s DuShawn Brooks for a team-leading 24 points.

UPMC 68, Center Court 67

Coming off his 26-point inaugural summer league game, Pitt incoming freshman John Johnson impress the crowd again with another solid performance.

In the second game on Wednesday night, Johnson scored 15 points, but it was classmate Durand Johnson who sealed the victory for his team late in the game.

Durand Johnson went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the final seconds to seal the victory for UPMC. He finished with seven points, all from the foul line.

Sophomore J.J. Moore was one of the most active players on the floor. His action at the hoop included a drive and a floater in the lane to pull Center Court within one, 61-60, late in the second half.

But even with his ability to get to the basket, Moore struggled to put the ball in the hoop. He finished with 26 points, but on 8-of-21 shooting from the field.

Khem Birch led Center Court with 11 rebounds and looked more than comfortable defensively.

Birch said since he started playing basketball, performing on the defensive end has come naturally to him. He hopes to bring those abilities to the Pitt team this season.

“I want to bring energy, rebounding, defense,” he said. “Hopefully offense as well.”

PBC 62, PGT 52

A Big East conference rival put on the best performance in the final game of the night.

West Virginia’s Darryl Bryant led PBC to the win with 12 points, six assists and six rebounds in his first appearance at the Pro-Am League this summer.

Pitt sophomore Cameron Wright started strong, scoring eight of PGT’s first nine points, but he finished with 11 overall and couldn’t push his team to the win.

Although incoming freshman Malcolm Gilbert didn’t perform well offensively, he looked solid once again on the defensive end and finished with three blocks.

“The pace is definitely quicker than high school,” Gilbert said before Monday’s game. “So it’s just adjusting and getting used to it. I’m glad I showed up [for the league] and I had a good [first game].”

PBC opened up a big lead early on and led 39-24 at the half. An early second-half run helped PGT trim the lead to 52-50, but PBC closed the game on a run of its own to produce the final score.

On Monday, the second game of the evening featured SteelCityTickets.com and PBC — two teams without a Pitt player on their rosters.

But Gibbs and Patterson made up for their Pitt teammates’ bye night with their strong performances in the first game.

SPK Law 83, UPMC 75

Gibbs finished with a game-high 31 points and dished out six assists to lead SPK Law to the win in the first game on Monday night.

He shot 10 for 15 from the field, including 5-of-9 from the 3-point line, and had several spectators commenting on his “classic Gibbs performance.”

The senior guard made scoring look easy all night. On a few possessions, he was the only member of his team to touch the ball as he would dribble at the top of the key, make a quick move to get his defender to back off and then drain a 3-pointer.

He passed off to his teammates plenty, too. In the second half, Patterson scooped up a loose ball and passed to Gibbs in transition. At the other end, Gibbs found Patterson with a bounce pass and the redshirt sophomore converted the lay up.

Patterson was second on the team in scoring, finishing with 20 points and seven rebounds.

Durand Johnson played his best game of the Pro-Am league for UPMC. He was active on the floor and finished with 18 points that came from a combination of jump shots and driving to the hoop.

PGT 85, The Lair 76

In a performance that Pitt fans are familiar with, Nasir Robinson was all over the court in the final game on Monday night, leading PGT with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

Robinson consistently got his hands on the ball inside and made some impressive finishes in traffic around the basket. He finished with six rebounds.

The only area where Robinson struggled was the foul line — he went 2 for 7.

The Lair — playing without redshirt freshman Isaiah Epps — didn’t have a true point guard on the floor and the team often struggled to make plays.

Taylor did put together a solid night inside, finishing with 20 points and six rebounds. He continued a string of strong performances inside, going 8 for 14 from the floor.