Men’s Basketball: Despite Gibbs’ 25, Panthers lose to Indiana

Even with the return of senior guard Jermaine Dixon, the Pitt men’s basketball team’s… Even with the return of senior guard Jermaine Dixon, the Pitt men’s basketball team’s offensive troubles continued last night in its 74-64 loss to Indiana.

After scoring just 47 points in a win against New Hampshire last Friday, Pitt shot 32 percent from the field last night against the Hoosiers (4-4). The Panthers finished the game with just 11 assists and 15 turnovers.

Dixon, who missed the Panthers’ first eight games with a broken foot, came off the bench but didn’t score any points. He went 0-of-2 from the field, with two rebounds, an assist, a steal, a block and three turnovers.

One Panther who didn’t have too much trouble on the offensive end was Ashton Gibbs. The sophomore guard continued to lead Pitt’s scoring by putting up a career-high 25 points on 8-of-22 shooting, including 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. Gibbs’ previous career high was 23, which he scored last game. He’s scored at least 20 points in four of Pitt’s games this year.

The Panthers fall to 7-2 with the loss, and both came on neutral courts. Last night’s game was at Madison Square Garden in New York as part of the annual Jimmy V Classic, a four-team tournament in honor of Jim Valvano, the former North Carolina State coach who died in 1993 from cancer. Pitt’s first loss was to No. 2 Texas in Kansas City in the championship game of the CBE Classic.

The only two other Panthers to score double figures were Brad Wanamaker and Dante Taylor. The junior guard netted 18 points, led the team with four assists and tied for the team lead with six rebounds. Taylor scored 12 points and also had six rebounds. The 12 points are the most he’s scored since the season opener, when he scored 13 points in Pitt’s 63-60 win against Wofford.

Verdell Jones III led Indiana scoring with 22 points. Christian Watford was next in scoring for the Hoosiers with 18 points.

The Panthers’ next game is at the Petersen Events Center Saturday against Kent State at 2 p.m.