Men’s hoops sweeps Challenge

Pitt forward Sam Young took home Most Valuable Player honors, and DeJuan Blair and Levance… Pitt forward Sam Young took home Most Valuable Player honors, and DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields made the All-Tournament team at the Hispanic College Fund Basketball Challenge over the weekend. No. 22-ranked Pitt (3-0) beat Saint Louis last night, North Carolina A’T on Saturday and Houston Baptist on Friday.

Here’s a rundown of the action, starting with last night’s game and moving backward.

Pitt 69, Saint Louis 58

Pitt measured up in what could be considered the first test of its season.

After sleepwalking through its first two victories against Houston Baptist, a former NAIA squad, and North Carolina A’T, Saint Louis provided the Panthers a tournament-worthy opponent. The Billikens entered the contest 3-0 all-time against Pitt.

The Panthers pulled out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Billikens showed their resilience. With only a few minutes remaining in the half, Saint Louis had pulled to within two points. However, Pitt closed out the half with a 6-2 run propelled by a rejection and a spectacular follow-up dunk by Blair to take a 27-21 cushion heading into the locker room.

The Billikens came out hot in the second half and once again pulled within two points of Pitt. The Panthers continued to answer every Saint Louis challenge, however, and never surrendered their lead.

Blair, the freshman from Oakland’s Schenley High, led the Panthers with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds. He also added three steals.

Despite his 6-foot-7-inch frame, the bullish Blair managed to hold Saint Louis’ 7-foot center, Bryce Husak, to only two points.

“He’s a big guy to guard,” Blair said. “My coaches were telling me to keep my feet active. I was just moving around and I got a couple deflections. It was nice to play against a 7-footer because I’ll be playing against them throughout the season.”

Blair was a highly touted recruit out of high school and, after only three games, is already receiving outstanding reviews from coaches and opponents alike.

“He’s going to weigh more than most guys guarding him,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. “He’s going to be quicker than most guys guarding him. He’s going to have better hands than most guys guarding him, so I would rather have all those things than a couple more inches.”

“Blair has phenomenal hands,” Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus said. “He has soft hands, he has good touch and he has strong hands. He could be special.”

Pitt 88, North Carolina A’T 61

It must’ve been something they said.

North Carolina A’T pushed Pitt in every facet of the game to start Saturday’s night contest at the Petersen Events Center, but when the horn sounded for the game’s first media timeout, something clicked for Pitt.

“[North Carolina A’T] came out and I guess they were a little hungry,” Young said. “They tried to get physical with us. They even started trash talking. After the timeout, we said ‘Let’s go. Let’s get them out of there. Let’s show them they are not supposed to be on the floor with us.'”

It was Young’s second big performance in as many games. The 6-foot-6-inch junior scored 24 points, and Pitt cruised past North Carolina A’T, 88-61, in the Hispanic College Fund Basketball Challenge.

Young had career highs in points, 3-pointers and steals. He hit 4 of his 6 3-pointers and nabbed four steals.

“They seemed to lose track of me,” Young said. “They left open [on the perimeter] all last year, so I was expecting it. That’s something I worked on in the offseason. I’ve been waiting for something like that to happen.”

Young polished off Pitt’s 16-0 run midway through the first half that pushed the Panthers way out in front. The run squashed an excited North Carolina A’T team that took a 14-13 lead after seven minutes of play.

Young was alone in front of the fastbreak, slowed down and prepared to wow the crowd. He rose high, turned his back to the basket and powered a double-clutch reverse dunk through the tin.

It was the newest addition in the collection of highlight reel dunks Young has given the Pitt faithful. When asked if he was planning to average one spectacular dunk a game this season, Young said, “If I can, I’m definitely going to show off to please the crowd.”

He added: “My goal is average a win every time we play.”

Pitt 103, Houston Baptist 62

Pitt fans wanted to see a show, and Sam Young and DeJuan Blair wouldn’t let the crowd down on opening night.

Young slammed his way to 14 first-half points and finished three alley-oops on his way to 22 points, while Blair dominated the boards and put up a double-double in Pitt’s 103-62 victory over Houston Baptist.

Blair scored the first six points of the game and put on an offensive rebounding clinic in the few minutes the Panthers needed him to play. He finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds in his college debut. Ten of those rebounds were on the offensive glass.

“It was fun, man,” Blair said. “We played good out there.”

Blair and Young’s rebounding prowess led to some record-breaking feats. The 59 total rebounds and 27 offensive rebounds were both school records.

“If they shoot, I’m going to go get the rebound no matter what,” Blair said. “If I don’t get it, Sam will.”

The Panthers jumped out to a 13-0 lead before many Pitt fans even showed up. With their transition game in full swing, three crowd-pleasing dunks took the life out of Houston Baptist, capped by a Young alley-oop from Levance Fields.

Young added a windmill dunk to his repertoire on a breakaway, and the team never looked back.

If there was one weakness in the team’s play, it was the outside shooting.

Pitt only was 1 for 15 on threes in the first half and shot 42.9 percent in the half. However, the Panthers rebounded nicely in the second 20 minutes, hitting 9 of their 19 threes and eclipsed 100 points.

Keith Benjamin tied a career-high with 16 points off the bench, and Mike Cook netted 13 points and six rebounds for the Panthers.

Baron Sauls paced Houston Baptist with 13 points. He was the only Husky to notch double figures.

Pitt was dominant defensively as well, forcing 22 turnovers and 16 steals. The Panthers held Houston Baptist to 36.1-percent shooting.

“It was a good first win for us,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. “I thought we really passed the ball well and rebounded well. Obviously, the dunks stood out for some people.”