Men’s basketball: Zanna leads Panthers to win over Maryland

Nasir Robinson returned from knee surgery Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Talib Zanna,… Nasir Robinson returned from knee surgery Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Talib Zanna, though, is in no hurry to give up his spot in the starting lineup.

Zanna had a double-double with a career-high 14 points and 13 rebounds, and his tip-in basket with 57 seconds to go helped the No. 5 Panthers pull away late to defeat Maryland, 79-70, in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.

Pitt (4-0) opened the second half ahead by four points when Zanna scored two quick baskets that catalyzed the rest of a 21-4 Panthers run. Maryland surged back to close Pitt’s lead to as little as one, but the Panthers handled the Terrapins’ full-court press.

Zanna’s play might surprise some, but not his teammates.

“We saw the improvement in Talib last year. Even though he redshirted we saw that he was maybe our best rebounder on the team,” senior guard Brad Wanamaker said earlier this season after an exhibition win against Northwood University.

“He plays with energy, that’s his job, to give his team a great offensive rebounder and do all the dirty work that most guys don’t want to do,” Maryland head coach Gary Williams said after the game.

The anticipated matchup between Gary McGhee and Maryland forward Jordan Williams didn’t come to fruition until late, as Williams ran into foul trouble in the first half. He finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, falling one board shy of his fourth consecutive double-double.

Meanwhile, Robinson, who had surgery on Oct. 27, had four points off the bench in his season debut. He was originally expected to miss up to six weeks after the procedure.

But Thursday was all about Zanna, who led all Panthers in points and rebounds. The redshirt freshman is now averaging 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds on the season, forming a formidable defensive duo with the senior McGhee. Pitt out-rebounded Maryland, 43-23, and had 11 offensive boards.

Maryland (3-1) outshot Pitt in the first half, but the Panthers escaped with a 31-27 lead thanks to the Terrapins’ horrendous free-throw shooting.

Maryland missed all seven foul shot attempts in the opening half and finished the game just 14 for 30.

“They [Maryland] try to do things that they did in high school, and they can’t do that now,”  Williams said earlier in the week. “There has been some sloppiness on our part.”

The offense that Pitt showcased against North Florida and Illinois-Chicago, meanwhile, didn’t show up in the Garden for much of the game.

Maryland denied the Panthers any open looks until Zanna’s play down low in the second half opened up shots from the perimeter.

Ashton Gibbs finished with 13 points, and Travon Woodall and Wanamaker also had double-digit totals.

Last night’s win at the Garden continues the winning trend for the Panthers in New York City. Pitt’s record at its home-away-from-home is 25-11 since the 2000-01 season.

“We moved the ball a little bit better, I just thought we were fighting their pressure and not how we wanted to do it,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said after the game. “We had some ball movement, hit a shot, and in the second half we came out and really executed some plays.”

Pitt can improve on that record when it plays the winner of Thursday’s Texas vs. Illinois game Friday at 7 p.m. for the tournament championship.