Panthers shoot lights out, win 67-51

Aaron Gray scored nine points and made just one shot in the first half. But Pitt (18-3, 6-1)… Aaron Gray scored nine points and made just one shot in the first half. But Pitt (18-3, 6-1) still won its game at Cincinnati (10-9, 1-4) last night by 16 points, 67-51.

As the Bearcats’ defense focused on limiting Gray’s presence inside the paint, the 7-footer helped pass the ball around to open shooters. The result: a 9-for-11 performance from 3-point land by guards Levance Fields and Ron Ramon.

Fields finished the game leading all scorers with 18 points, which all came off 3-pointers. Ramon and forward Sam Young each added 10 points off the bench for Pitt in the win. The Pitt bench outscored the Cincinnati bench, 23-3.

Pitt used the extra pass to its advantage early and often in the first half to open up 3-point shots.

Double-teamed on the inside, Gray passed out to Antonio Graves along the perimeter before he sent the ball back down low to Levon Kendall. As the defense collapsed, Kendall saw an open Fields who buried the shot from beyond the arc.

After Cincinnati switched to a 1-3-1 zone to apply pressure on Pitt’s perimeter, Sam Young and Graves launched cross-court passes to break the zone and find open shooters.

Both of their passes found Ramon, who connected on each 3-point shot, even while being fouled on the first one which led to a four-point play.

The second half proved much of the same for the Panthers.

Not even a minute into the half, Fields stepped beyond the arc along the wing and sank his sixth and final 3-pointer of the game, pushing the Panthers’ lead to 41-26.

The Panther lead stayed in the double digits for the rest of the game as Pitt remained unbeaten on the road in the Big East. The Panthers, as a team, shot 61 percent from the field, including a 12-for-19 (63 percent) effort from beyond the arc.

Struggles with turnovers continued for the Panthers, who turned the ball over 15 times to only 13 assists. The 15 turnovers that the Cincinnati defense forced on Pitt led to 19 points for the Bearcats.

John Williamson led Cincinnati with 15 points, while Deonta Vaughn (13) and Marcus Sikes (10) each added double-figure scoring efforts.

The Panthers will return to action Saturday when they host St. John’s for a Big East matchup inside the Petersen Events Center. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 4 p.m.