Blair’s double-double leads to Panther win

St. John’s played well enough in the first half to challenge the team that competed in its first… St. John’s played well enough in the first half to challenge the team that competed in its first contest since being anointed as the top basketball squad in the nation. Instead, the Red Storm threw its chances away ‘mdash; right into the hands of Pitt, as the Panthers cruised to a 90-67 victory after heading to the locker room with a five-point lead at halftime. A smothering Pitt defense forced 24 turnovers, including four during a crucial 17-6 stretch to start the second half, and forced the Red Storm into poor decisions all game. ‘We really wanted to force them into some turnovers,’ said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. ‘I think they just wore down, you could see them get trapped in the corner throughout, and that wears on you.’ Sophomore center DeJuan Blair again dominated the inside for the Panthers, finishing with 23 points and 15 rebounds. The double-double was his 10th in 14 games, and he added six steals to his final tally. Perhaps most importantly, when Pitt struggled to connect on free throws, Blair went 9-of-11 from the line. Blair’s teammates combined to go 5-of-12 from the charity stripe. ‘That’s what we’re going to need down the stretch,’ said Blair. ‘If you watched Memphis last year, they missed their free throws and didn’t get it done in the national championship.’ ‘The team we’ve got, the depth we’ve got, I think we’re going to get fouled a lot because of the way we rebound, free throws are going to come in handy.’ Jermaine Dixon added a career-high 17 points and four steals, and Levance Fields just missed a double-double of his own with 13 points and nine assists. Senior forward Sam Young had an off day, making only five of his 15 attempts. He finished with 12 points ‘mdash; his second-lowest amount of the season. Pitt (15-0, 3-0 Big East) triumphed in its first-ever game as the No. 1 team in college basketball. The Panthers top both the Associated Press and the USA Today/ESPN polls. Fields said the team was a little bit excited, but didn’t let the ranking affect its psyche. ‘It’s the first time in history, so we’d be lying if we said it wasn’t [exciting],’ said Fields. ‘Other than that, it doesn’t really affect what we’re doing. None of us on this team have big heads.’ Sophomore forward D.J. Kennedy paced the Red Storm with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Rob Thomas and Sean Evans added 13 apiece for St. John’s (10-5, 1-2 Big East), which was coming off an upset over then-No. 7 Notre Dame last Saturday. The game was a homecoming for Kennedy, a Pittsburgh native and teammate of Blair at Schenley High School. ‘It was a great atmosphere,’ said Kennedy. ‘It’s a big game for me, the outcome wasn’t so good, but I’m just happy I got to play in front of my own family.’ The Panthers defense clamped down on St. John’s young lineup immediately. The Red Storm committed five turnovers before the first media timeout only four minutes into the game. Pitt was sloppy with the ball, as well. St. John’s settled down and took advantage of four miscues to stick with the Panthers. Quincy Roberts’ 3-point play with 11:52 to go in the first half put the Red Storm up 17-15. Ugly play continued with both sides, But St. John’s minimized its mistakes to remain on top of the Panthers. A jumper by Kennedy made the score 29-26 with 5:36 to go in the half. The back and forth battle continued, until the mostly neutralized Young exploded for two huge plays. First, Young blocked a shot attempt by TyShawn Edmondson and then received the ball from Jermaine Dixon on an outlet pass. Young tossed the ball to Gilbert Brown for a thunderous alley-oop dunk. After a St. John’s basket, Fields emerged from a scrum with a loose ball, fired a line drive to Young under the hoop for another jam that left the sellout Petersen Events Center crowd in a frenzy at halftime with a 41-36 advantage. Jermaine Dixon used the whole floor to give the Panthers some breathing room. The junior scored seven of Pitt’s first nine points after the half on two layups and a 3-pointer, as Pitt ran to its first double-digit lead of the contest at 50-40. Two straight 3-pointers from Fields and Young and a Young runner sucked the spirit out of the Red Storm. The eight straight points capped a 17-6 run and pushed Pitt’s lead to 58-42, and the rout was on. After three weeks away from home, Pitt will play its second straight game at the Petersen Events Center Wednesday against South Florida at 7 p.m.