Summer over for biggest Panthers

Pitt’s biggest guns were eliminated from the playoffs Monday night in round one of the… Pitt’s biggest guns were eliminated from the playoffs Monday night in round one of the Greentree Pittsburgh Pro-Am summer league. Levance Fields, DeJuan Blair and Sam Young were all bounced from competition as a result of the first-round defeats.

In the first game of the night, the No. 6-seeded P’W Motors (1-7) picked up its first win of the summer, knocking off No. 3-seeded Aliquippa Giant Eagle (4-4). P’W took advantage of the absence of Fields to hold on for the win.

In the second game of the night, Young, Dwight Miller, Travon Woodall and No. 5-seeded PGT (3-5) were dominated from the start by Brad Wanamaker, Ashton Gibbs, Tyrell Biggs and the No. 4-seeded FWG Realty (4-4). The game was never close, and FWG would cruise to an easy win.

Game 1 P’W 70 Aliquippa 65

This game wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.

Both teams were missing key components. P’W, which featured no Pitt players, was without West Virginia sharpshooter Alex Ruoff, who had a groin injury. Aliquippa was without Fields, who missed the game to attend class.

Aliquippa was clearly hurt worse by the absence of Fields. Without a true point guard to handle its offense, Aliquippa looked sloppy throughout. Former Pitt player Keith Benjamin did most of the handling for Aliquippa, but was unable to get the offense going.

Aliquippa never was able to establish Blair, and, although P’W was forced to play small, it was able to contain Blair using a 2-3 zone throughout the whole game. Blair struggled most of the game, finishing just 7-of-23 from the field. Still, Blair scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Blair often played away from the basket when it was clear he could dominate inside. With 15 minutes left in the first half, Blair showed his post presence with a monstrous dunk at one end and then a demoralizing block on the other. But otherwise, Blair was seldom heard from in the paint.

He did, however, show a nice touch from the line going 6-of-9, including five in a row.

Aliquippa creeped back in the game near the half, but Radford’s Amir Johnson (16 points, five assists and three rebounds) nailed a 3-pointer as the first-half buzzer sounded to give P’W a 34-27 lead that it would never relinquish.

With seven minutes left in the game, Aliquippa went to a full-court press and was able to creep within three points. But P’W made its free throws and advanced to Tuesday night’s semi-finals.

Game 2 FWG 82 PGT 59

As it has the past few weeks, the backcourt of Gibbs and Wanamaker looked impressive.

Matched up with Young throughout, Wanamaker was able to out-duel Pitt’s super senior. Young had a bad shooting night and ended the night 5 for 14. But some of Young’s struggles were credited to Wanamaker’s tough defense against the bigger man.

Wanamaker, who finished with 15 points, four assists and two rebounds, continued to exude confidence in all facets of his game. Young frequently picked Wanamaker up full-court, but the pressure rarely got to the sophomore guard.

Wanamaker has shown improvement with his jump shot from the outside this summer, but it’s been his strength and ability to finish inside with contact that’s been one of the biggest changes.

Gibbs, a freshman, was equally impressive. Again, he was perfect from the outside, hitting all three of his 3-point attempts. Gibbs finished the game with 18 points and two rebounds.

Freshman Dwight Miller didn’t have his best game (five points, three rebounds) for PGT, but did display high intensity. He also hit a 3-pointer in the second half.

Tyrell Biggs also chipped in 12 points and five rebounds, as FWG moved on to the semi-finals.

Sophomore guard/forward Gilbert Brown did not play for PGT.