Pitt finishes preseason in blowout

In its final tune-up before its season opener, the Pitt men’s basketball team dominated La Roche… In its final tune-up before its season opener, the Pitt men’s basketball team dominated La Roche from start to finish yesterday in an 82-30 pounding. Sam Young paced the Panthers with 18 points, while Tyrell Biggs and Jermaine Dixon totaled 11 points each. Every Pitt player scored, but the defense was the key. The 30 points scored by La Roche was the least amount of points Pitt has ever given up in an exhibition game. The Redhawks shot 23.8 percent for the contest and committed 26 turnovers. The win was Pitt’s 20th straight exhibition victory. Point guard Levance Fields, who practiced this week, sat out for the second straight game. Fields is nursing an injured foot that coach Jamie Dixon said is still bothering him. ‘It’s his decision,’ said Dixon. ‘We had hoped he’d be back by now. It’s not where we thought it would be. But we have to recognize what it is. He’s been injured for 11 months.’ Fields could be ready for the regular-season opener on Friday against Farleigh Dickinson. Forward Gilbert Brown also did not play for the Panthers. Dixon said that Brown has a chance of returning on Friday but that he hasn’t done anything since suffering a stress fracture in his left foot last week. The only change in the starting lineup from last week’s exhibition game against Seton Hill was the insertion of Dixon for Brad Wanamaker at shooting guard. Young, Biggs, DeJuan Blair and Ashton Gibbs rounded out the initial five. Young’s seven rebounds also led Pitt. The senior hustled around the court, tipping loose balls and keeping possessions alive. The rest of the team followed suit for the duration of the game. ‘It’s something we talked about before the game,’ said Dixon. ‘I was happy with our attitude today.’ Young started at small forward but said he still is adjusting to the position. He started at power forward last season. ‘I still see myself running all the way down to the block instead of filling out on the wing,’ said Young. ‘I think as we continue to play, it’s going to become more normal. I don’t see it as a problem. Actually, when I become as comfortable as I was before, I think we can be an even better team than last year.’ La Roche junior guard Dylan Grazier led the Redhawks with seven points. Pitt started the game on a 12-4 run, highlighted by a thunderous dunk by Young over La Roche center David Culp. The Panthers struggled from the line early, missing five of their first nine attempts, and went 4 for 11 in the first 20 minutes. But La Roche couldn’t take advantage, as Pitt’s defense clamped down and limited the Redhawks’ ability to find any open looks. Unlike last week against Seton Hill, the Panthers put La Roche away in the first half. The Redhawks only shot 20 percent from the field in the first half, while Pitt notched 51.7 percent of its shots. Young led the Panthers with eight first-half points. The nine players who touched the court all scored, leading to a 37-14 halftime advantage. Pitt then blew the gates off to open the second half. It scored the first 13 points of the half and led, 50-14. Young scored 10 points in the first seven minutes before coming out of the game for good. When Young exited with 13 minutes to go in the game, his point tally of 18 was higher than La Roche’s entire team total, which was 17. The Redhawks only scored five points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. A Gibbs jumper with 9:16 to go in the game placed Pitt ahead, 63-19. Guard Ryan Tiesi hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining to finish the scoring.