Pitt pulls away from RMU

‘ ‘ ‘ Levance Fields had his third double-double of the season as the Pitt Panthers stepped… ‘ ‘ ‘ Levance Fields had his third double-double of the season as the Pitt Panthers stepped away from the Big East and defeated cross-town opponent Robert Morris 92-72 last night. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ It was the last non-conference game of the season for No. 6 Pitt, which dropped in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls following its loss at Villanova last week. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Fields had 12 points and 13 assists as he helped lead the Panthers to their 20th win of the season. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s different,’ said Fields about the non-conference matchup. ‘But for the most part we did a good job of handling it, taking it as another Big East game and playing hard.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers got help from the bench early and often in the game. Freshman Ashton Gibbs used his extra time to put up nine points by going 3 for 4 from beyond the arc in the first half. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘He’s given us some versatility,’ said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. ‘He obviously can shoot the ball and his defense has gotten better.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Gibbs was one of five players to come off the bench and score points for the Panthers (20-2, 7-2 Big East). Gilbert Brown, Gary McGhee, Brad Wanamaker and Nasir Robinson also made the score sheet. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Senior Sam Young paced Pitt with 23 points, and sophomore DeJuan Blair added 18. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Jermaine Dixon was 3 for 4 shooting 3-pointers and scored 15 points. He also led the team with three steals, including one that led to a foul on Fields as the Panthers were pulling away in the first half. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ With the game tied at 17 early, Young put up a jumper that sparked a 7-0 run and Pitt never trailed again. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘You just hope the defense can stay with it and get some stops,’ said Dixon. ‘[Robert Morris] played well and they’re going to make shots and you have to answer on the offensive and defensive side.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ After falling behind 24-17, the Colonials (15-8 overall, 9-1 NEC) responded by getting five points from senior Bateko Francisco to close the gap. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But Pitt’s defense stepped up and its rebound control took over the game as it went on another run. The 11-0 streak was capped off with Gibbs’ first 3-point jumper of the game for a 35-22 lead with less than seven minutes to play in the first half. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Entering halftime, the Panthers led 53-33 and were outrebounding and outshooting the Colonials. Coming out of the break, a combined effort from both starters and bench players helped Pitt take control. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ With 6:36 left in the game, the Colonials came within 11 points at 76-65 ‘- but it was the closest they got to Pitt in the second half. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers extended their overall win streak against the Colonials to 27 games and improved to 13-0 in non-conference play this season. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘If you told me we were going to get out of here with a 20-point win, every coach in the country would be happy against an NCAA Tournament team,’ said Dixon. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt travels to Chicago this weekend to take on DePaul on Saturday afternoon.