Second-half surge carries Pitt to win

After taking No. 4 UCLA down to the wire last week, Miami (Ohio) entered the Petersen Events… After taking No. 4 UCLA down to the wire last week, Miami (Ohio) entered the Petersen Events Center last night with an upset on its mind. But Pitt squashed any chance of a loss with a dominant second half, triumphing in a rout of the Redhawks, 82-53. Levance Fields notched the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 12 assists, and all five starters reached double digits in points to lead Pitt to victory. ‘I always got nine or eight [assists],’ said Fields. ‘I told [Jermaine Dixon] if he could make some shots, I could get to 10, so tonight he made some shots. Everybody did a great job, and this is a good win for us overall.’ Sam Young and Dixon, a junior college transfer in his second game at Pitt, each had 14 points for Pitt (2-0), while DeJuan Blair and Tyrell Biggs added 10 apiece. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon was pleased with his team’s performance against what he called a tough Miami squad. ‘Over the last three days, it’s like 72 hours of being in a chair in a dentist’s office, the way they just grind you out and just play,’ said Dixon. ‘I’m very happy with our defense tonight.’ Miami coach Charlie Coles couldn’t hide his admiration for the Pitt side. ‘I just had a hard time trying to figure out what to do next,’ said Coles. ‘I’m pretty sure I ran out of ideas with about 15 minutes to go in the second half.’ Redhawks’ point guard Kenny Harris led all scorers with 18 points, but Michael Bramos, a second team All-MAC selection last season, was limited to two points and shot 0-of-6 from the field. Bramos’ first points didn’t come until 11:36 remained on the clock. Blair got into early foul trouble and had to miss the last 9:30 of the first half, bringing Miami (1-2) back into the game. Pitt led 35-30 at the half. The Panthers took control with a 26-6 stretch at the onset of the second half and pulled away to a 25-point lead that wouldn’t be overcome. Both the players and Dixon contributed Pitt’s strong second half to a rededication to rebounding. ‘We came out with a whole new attitude for the second half,’ said Blair. ‘In the first half, they actually outrebounded us. The seniors talked at halftime, and we responded.’ Pitt played its second game without sophomore Gilbert Brown, who is out with a stress fracture in his foot. Miami almost knocked off the mighty Bruins four days earlier but shot only 31 percent from the field against the vaunted Panther defense. Pitt started the game on a 9-0 run, with four players contributing to the score. Miami’s first points didn’t come until almost five minutes into the game. Blair picked up his second foul with 9:28 left in the first half, and the Redhawks picked up some immediate momentum with Pitt’s center on the bench. Miami scored eight straight points on two 3-pointers and a Hayes fast-break layup to cut the deficit to 21-17 with 7:01 to go in the half. The teams were evenly matched the rest of the half. Young converted a 3-point play to put Pitt ahead 31-23, but the Redhawks hung with the Panthers. Fields drove to the hoop with an athletic reverse layup to give Pitt the 35-30 lead. The Panthers rushed out to the second half like the first. They tallied the first seven points, and after a Redhawks bucket, Dixon connected on a 3-pointer for a 45-32 advantage ‘mdash; Pitt’s largest of the game up to that point. Pitt scored 15 of the game’s next 19 points to finish off the Redhawks.