Basketball: Pitt men prepare to take on RMU

While the Pitt men’s basketball team was busy winning the 2K Sports Classic in Madison Square… While the Pitt men’s basketball team was busy winning the 2K Sports Classic in Madison Square Garden, Robert Morris was occupied as well, defeating Duquesne for the first time since 2006.

Today, the Panthers will look to avoid becoming the second Pittsburgh basketball team to fall to sophomore guard Karon Abraham and the Colonials.

Abraham scored 15 points in the 69-63 win over the Dukes, guiding Robert Morris to victory despite Duquesne jumping out to an early 23-10 lead. He went 4-for-4 at the foul line during a 12-5 Colonials run that closed out the first half.

He leads the Colonials in scoring this season with 14 points per game. Forward Russell Johnson nearly averaged a double-double, putting up 12.3 points and pulling down eight rebounds per game.

Last season, Abraham was the unanimous Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year selection and set seven Robert Morris freshman records. An aggressive player and a talented scorer, he hasn’t missed a step in his sophomore campaign.

Whereas Abraham shines in the backcourt, Johnson is a stand-out forward who played in all 35 games last season. He’s active inside and a versatile athlete, able to step out and hit mid-range jumpers and threes.

Both Robert Morris and Pitt received important contributions from the bench in their latest victories. The Colonials’ reserves outscored Duquesne’s bench 22-8, with freshman Anthony Myers scoring seven points and grabbing eight rebounds and seven different players scoring at least six points.

In the 79-70 win over Maryland, the Pitt bench scored 30 points, led by an 11-point and five-assist performance from Travon Woodall. The bench put up 20 points against Texas.

The Panthers showed their versatility in their wins in New York. In the victory over Maryland, five different players scored in double figures, and Dante Taylor was close with eight points.

Talib Zanna ended with a double-double against the Terrapins, putting up 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Not only will Robert Morris have to contend with the backcourt combination of Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker, but the emergence of Zanna gives the Colonials someone else to worry about inside.

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

But in the matchup with Texas, Pitt needed a strong performance from leading scorer Gibbs, who made several clutch shoots en route to scoring 24 points, 19 of which came in the second half. The Panthers won 68-66.

The Panthers pulled off the close victory because of their ability to make good decisions, especially at the end of the game, Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. Their discipline and experience makes it difficult for any team, including Robert Morris, to rattle them.

“You have to have patience and recognize that we are not going to get a shot on every [play],” Dixon said. “It’s about the process, about the grind, the patience and the commitment to what we are doing.”

Dixon said Pitt’s success stems from the players’ ability to come together as a team, putting their egos aside in order to continue winning.

“[The players] are proud to be at the University of Pittsburgh, and they [are] playing for the name on their front jersey. I think that is important,” he said. “Character is what you look for and when you get high-character kids, you can do a lot of great things.”

So far this this seson, Robert Morris has scored an average 61 points per game, holding opponents to 51.7 points, while Pitt has put up 84.4 points and limited opponents to 62.8.

The Panthers have also been out-rebounding most of their opponents, an issue the Colonials are going to have to contend with if they want a chance at defeating the Panthers.