Men’s Basketball

Dec. 18: Pitt 97, Maryland Eastern Shore… Men’s Basketball

Dec. 18: Pitt 97, Maryland Eastern Shore 64

Pitt senior forward Gilbert Brown was named Big East Player of the Week thanks to his impressive performance against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks.

Brown scored a career-high 28 points in the game, missing only two of his shot attempts.

“I’ve felt good all week shooting the ball,” Brown said after the game. “My mindset has been no hesitation — just go out and play basketball and be aggressive.”

His outlook proved successful and helped the No. 5 Panthers earn their 11th victory of the season.

The Panthers continued to show superiority on the boards. They secured 53 rebounds to the Hawks’ 26. Gary McGhee pulled down 10 of 53 and added 10 points to earn a double-double.

Maryland Eastern Shore head coach Frankie Allen praised the Panthers’ performance.

“Pitt’s too much for us,” Allen said after the Hawks’ fourth consecutive loss of 30 points or more. “That’s a team that is going to go a long way.”

Dec. 22: Pitt 61, American 46

Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon earned his 200th victory as Pitt relied on defense and rebounding to defeat American in the Panthers’ 56th consecutive non-conference win at the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers out-rebounded the Eagles 41 to 24 and used stifling defensive play combined with offensive timeliness to piece together two key runs.

In the first half, Pitt went on a 15-2 run to take the lead. Then, late in the second half, the Panthers mounted a 9-0 run that sealed the victory.

Brad Wanamaker led the Panthers with 19 points, while Gilbert Brown and Ashton Gibbs chipped in 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Dixon reached his 200th victory in eight season tying Mark Few of Gonzaga and Roy Williams of North Carolina for the record.The Pitt head coach credited his players when he reflected on hitting the coaching milestone.

“I reminded the team that I have 200 wins because of my good players,” Dixon said. “That beats coaching any day, and I am sticking to that philosophy.”

Dec. 27: Pitt 78, Connecticut 63

The then-No. 4 Connecticut Huskies entered the contest against Pitt as the more highly ranked team, but another set of numbers proved more telling in the Panthers’ convincing win in their Big East opener.

Pitt cruised to a perfect 8-0 against top-five teams at its home court with the victory over Connecticut and improved its overall home record to 142-11.

The Panthers secured an early lead and never trailed the Huskies, thanks in part to Pitt’s ability to spread out the scoring and generate offense from its passing.

“I’m really pleased with how our half-court offense is developing and improving,” Dixon said. “The way we pass the ball and move in space, we can be very dangerous.”

Junior Ashton Gibbs paced the Panthers with 21 points and Wanamaker, McGhee and Nasir Robinson also contributed double-digit scoring performances.

Connecticut’s Kemba Walker led all players with 31 points, but Dixon and his team were pleased with their defensive performance against the nation’s leading scorer.

“Kemba Walker is going to score,” Dixon said. “We just need him to make tough shots.”

Wanamaker added to that sentiment, stating that Walker “made some tough shots and took the ball to the basket.”

“I thought we gave a good overall team effort on defense,” Wanamaker said.

Pitt’s defense by committee on Walker, combined with balanced scoring, resulted in an important victory in a highly competitive Big East conference. The Panthers have won four in a row over the Huskies.

Women’s Basketball

Dec. 19: Texas Tech 78, Pitt 65

Despite a game-high 26-point performance by Panther guard Jania Sims, Pitt was unable to secure a victory over Texas Tech in the first game of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.

The Panthers led 38-35 at halftime after shooting 50 percent from the field and from beyond the arc, but that success didn’t carry over into the second half.

“I thought we played one of our best first halves,” head coach Agnus Berenato said. “We just couldn’t sustain it in the second half.”

After going 3 for 6 from 3-point range in the first half, the Panthers failed to score on any of their 10 second-half long-range shots.

In similar contrast, the Panthers’ field goal percentage fell to 31 percent in the second half.

Though Pitt’s offensive disparity led to the defeat, the rebounding of Texas Tech proved to be a key for the Lady Red Raiders as they dominated the boards 41-30.

Dec. 20: Pitt 95, UT Arlington 61

In Pitt’s second game of the Holiday Hoops Classic, the offense flowed throughout the game, and the Panthers finished 59 percent from the field.

Seven Panther players finished the game with double-digit scoring performances, including freshman Asia Logan who led all players with 13 points.

Senior forward Chelsea Cole earned her sixth double-double of the season in 11 games. Cole collected 11 points and 13 rebounds in the victory, bringing her career double-double tally to 16.

The freshman class was well represented as Pitt posted its largest point total in three years.

In addition to the contribution of Logan, fellow freshmen Leeza Burgess and Kyra Dunn recorded 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Pitt held the Mavericks to just 27 percent from the field.

Dec. 28: Pitt 75, Austin Peay 53

The Panthers put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season, never trailing in a victory over Austin Peay and leading by as many as 28 points.

Just hours before Pitt’s win over the Lady Governors, senior Sims was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll because of her superb play in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.

Sims leads the Big East with an 88.9 free-throw shooting percentage and is third in the assist category, averaging 4.9 per game. Against Peay, other Panther players provided offensive diversity.

Cole and Shayla Scott both earned double-doubles on the night, adding to Cole’s Big East leading tally of seven.

Scott added four blocks to her 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Panthers finished with a season-high 13 blocks.

Sims finished with nine points and four assists, while Harrison joined Cole and Scott in double figures with 13 points.

Dec. 31: Pitt 94, Central Michigan 78

Harrison scored 25 points, and all five starters reached double figures as the Panthers picked up their third consecutive victory.

Central Michigan entered the contest averaging 89.1 points per game, the highest in the nation, but it was the Panthers who dominated offensively.

Cole recorded another double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds and fellow senior forward Scott recorded 16 points and six rebounds.

Scott and freshman Ashlee Anderson were both a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc, adding to the Panther team total of 12 3-point baskets.

Sims returned to her scoring ways with 19 points while dishing out eight of Pitt’s 18 assists.

The Panthers were able to keep the Chippewa’s best 3-point shooter, Niki DiGuilio, to 0-3 from long range while the Central Michigan team was just 5-24 from behind the arc.

Pitt will return to Pittsburgh for its next game on Jan. 5, although it will not take place at the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers will face Duquesne at the A.J. Palumbo Center in the women’s version of the City Game in their last non-conference challenge before Big East play begins.

Wrestling

Dec. 29-30: Midlands Championships

In a two-day tournament with more than 45 competing schools, the Pitt wrestling team finished fifth overall and junior Matt Wilps claimed the 197-division title.

As a team, the Panthers finished the championships with six wrestlers in the top eight of their respective classes.

Juniors Tyler Nauman (141) and Zac Thomusseit (197) each earned third place, and fellow junior Ethan Headlee (165) finished in seventh place.

Headlee’s success was especially encouraging as the Midlands Championship marked his first wrestling appearance of the season.

Ryan Tomei (285), a senior, came away with a fourth-place finish after dropping a decision to the No. 4 ranked wrestler Ryan Flores of Columbia.

The Pitt sophomore class was also well-represented as Anthony Zanetta (125) and Donnie Tasser (157) finished sixth and eighth overall, respectively.

Despite his dominating performance, Wilps’ scoring did not help the Panthers as a team, as an NCAA regulation required Wilps to enter the competition as an individual because of his decision to redshirt the season.

En route to his championship title, Wilps defeated both the No. 3- and No. 4-ranked wrestlers in his class, capping a 5-0 performance over two days.

Perhaps the greatest surprise for Pitt was the performance of Tasser in his 8-4 upset decision over No. 2 Jason Welch of Northwestern on the first day of competition. He followed that with a 22-5 win in his first-day two-decision to guarantee a top-eight finish.

The next chance for the Panther wrestlers to continue their success will be at home at the Fitzgerald Field House on Sunday as part of the Pitt Duals competition.

Editor’s Note: Donnie Tasser is a staff writer for The Pitt News.