Pitt unveils freshmen in scrimmage

With Levance Fields still out because of a foot injury, point guard duties were primarily left… With Levance Fields still out because of a foot injury, point guard duties were primarily left to freshmen Ashton Gibbs and Travon Woodall in the Pitt men’s basketball team’s preseason opener against Seton Hill yesterday. Gibbs started, playing 17 minutes, while Woodall came off the bench and played 20 in the Panthers’ 102-51 win. ‘They’ve got to play leader [while Fields is out],’ said Pitt sophomore Gilbert Brown. Woodall scored 13, shooting 5 of 6 from the field, while going 3 for 4 from three-point range. He also had two assists as well as two turnovers. Gibbs scored nine and had two assists with no turnovers. ‘Both obviously played well,’ said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, adding that he anticipates the starting lineup will change over the course of the season.’ Seton Hill stayed with Pitt early on, but the play of another freshman, Nasir Robinson, helped the Panthers take the lead on their way to a 51-point victory. Trailing, 12-10, Robinson scored after bringing in an offensive rebound, tying the game. He then drew a charge on the defensive end of the floor before passing to a wide-open Gary McGee, who made an easy lay-in, on Pitt’s ensuing possession. Robinson scored 10 points but left the game early with a calf injury. Dixon said after the game he didn’t think it was too bad but took out the freshman just to be cautious. Even with the injury, he played 13 minutes off the bench.’ Dixon said he distributed the minutes the same way he hoped he would. Ten Panthers played more than 13 minutes. Tyrell Biggs, Brad Wanamaker, Woodall and Brown all played 20 or more. ‘We’re a relatively young group, and we’ve got to find out what our lineup is going to be,’ said Dixon. Sam Young led all scorers with 16, attempting six three-pointers but only hitting two. Dixon said he expects Young to play the perimeter more this year but doesn’t want him to become strictly a three-point shooter. DeJuan Blair scored 12 and had seven rebounds, four of which were offensive. McGee added 10 rebounds and scored 11 points, while Biggs scored 13 to go with his eight rebounds. Although Pitt held a 46-28 halftime lead, it still played sloppily early on. The Panthers shot 15 percent on three-point attempts and 50 percent from the free throw line in the opening half. They also had six turnovers and only nine assists. ‘We didn’t have enough [assists] in the first half,’ said Dixon, adding he didn’t think the team moved the ball well early. Pitt blew the game open in the opening minutes of the second half as it went on a 30-3 run, giving it a 76-31 advantage. In the second half, Pitt shot 58 percent on three-point attempts and 88 percent on free throws. The Panthers play their next preseason game on Sunday against LaRoche at home at 1 p.m. Dixon said the Panthers have only had 13 practices thus far, so the opportunity to play in a game situation was more than welcome. ‘The timing was good,’ he said. ‘We needed to play someone else.’