Jermaine Dixon’s first start of the season was overshadowed by the play of Ashton Gibbs and… Jermaine Dixon’s first start of the season was overshadowed by the play of Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker as the Pitt men’s basketball team defeated Mount St. Mary’s 66-48 this afternoon.

Wanamaker and Gibbs combined for the first 13 points of the game and Wanamaker finished with a career-high 20 points, while Gibbs added 19.

Most importantly, when the Panthers (9-2) needed a crucial basket, their two leading scorers stepped up.

Wanamaker averaged 18 points over the past three games. He also cut back on his turnovers, dishing out seven assists with only one turnover against the Monarchs. Wanamaker has had four turnovers in six of Pitt’s first 10 games this year.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said Wanamaker looked more patient offensively and that his recent success stems from letting the game come to him.

“I’ve turned the ball over a lot and coach has been preaching to me jump stop,” Wanamaker said. “The past couple of practices I’ve been doing it pretty good and it’s carried over to the game.”

With four minutes remaining in the first half, Mount St. Mary’s cut the previously nine-point Panther lead to three.

That’s when the Pitt defense locked down and Gibbs heated up.

The Panthers held the Monarchs scoreless over the final four minutes of the half while putting together a 9-0 run that included five points from Gibbs and ended with a Gary McGhee dunk.

“That always hurts you when you can’t close the half out,” Mount St. Mary’s coach Milian Brown said. “If you can win the first five minutes or last five minutes of a half, you’ll have a chance to win the game. We didn’t allow them to feel uncomfortable about the game.”

The Monarchs started the second half on a 10-3 run to cut the Pitt lead to five.

However, Gibbs answered again after he was fouled on a jump shot coming off a Panther timeout. Gibbs made the basket and the foul shoot to boost the Pitt lead back to eight.

After that, Pitt’s second-half lead swelled to as many as 18 points.

When the Monarchs came within 11 with five minutes remaining in the game, Gibbs and Wanamaker put their opponent away for the final time.

Gibbs drained a jumper to increase the lead to 13. On the following possession, Gibbs passed to Wanamaker for a lay-up to make the score 61-46.

While the two guards are carrying the Panthers, they also welcomed Dixon back to the starting lineup after coming off the bench the past two games after returning from a broken foot. Dixon played a season-best 19 minutes and finished with four points.

“Jermaine is looking better,” Jamie Dixon said. “He’ll be back to normal here shortly. He’s one of our best defensive players and that’s why we had him out there.”

McGhee finished one point away from a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

“Coach [Dixon] told me in practice that I need to concentrate on defending, setting screens, and crashing the offensive glass because that’s where a lot of my points are going to come from,” McGhee said. “So that’s what I did.”

Kelly Beidler and Jeremy Goode led Mount St. Mary’s with 11 points each. Shawn Atupem added 10 points.

Gibbs started at point guard for the first time this season, while Travon Woodall came off the bench.

Dixon said he believed all along that Gibbs would be the point guard, but with Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown out for the first few months of the season, the situation changed.

“It felt pretty good,” Gibbs said. “I was just trying to get used to it, my first game situation playing point guard. It really doesn’t matter. I think I can play any position, wherever my team needs me to play.”

Brown returns to the team for the next game on Dec.22 against Ohio after serving an academic suspension during the first semester.

“It’s going to be great to get another leader and experienced player out there with us and show the young guys some things,” Wanamaker said. “He’s been around and he knows what’s going on. He’ll fit in right away.”

Dixon said the Panthers would have a new team on the floor come tomorrow’s practice.

“We have to get a guy that hasn’t played all year with us in there,” Dixon said. “We have to get a guy who hadn’t played for six months better. We have to get seven new guys better.

“I know people don’t think it can be done, but it can be done. I tell my players that we are going to get better.”

Dixon said the Panthers focused on their efforts this week in practice, instead of watching film of Mount St. Mary’s. They centered on defense and limiting turnovers, he said, and he thought the defense improved against the Monarchs.

However, he added that the team needs to play more consistently on the defensive end. The offense is “headed in the right direction,” Dixon said, but the team needs to limit defensive droughts.

“We’re a team that’s not reached its peak and I truly believe that,” Dixon said. “That’s what I tell our players and I think they believe that, too.”