Kendall scores 21 in exhibition win over Cal U

With a little more than nine minutes remaining, Ron Banks’ layup cut Pitt’s lead to seven at… With a little more than nine minutes remaining, Ron Banks’ layup cut Pitt’s lead to seven at 59-52, giving California University a 7-0 run in the process. The Panthers knew they were in trouble, and the senior leaders would come together to rescue the team.

After Cal U botched a possession with three missed shots, Aaron Gray’s rebound off Levance Fields’ missed trey led to his layup that would calm the Panthers’ nerves. Two free throws by Mike Cook and a layin by Antonio Graves gave Pitt a 13-point cushion that wouldn’t be deflated on its way to an 80-65 victory to close out its exhibition schedule.

“There were things we could have done better, but their play had a lot to do with the final score. It was good competition, and that’s what we were looking for tonight,” head coach Jamie Dixon said.

As the game was in its unfolding stages, Pitt realized that the Vulcans wouldn’t necessarily be the patsy that Carnegie Mellon was on Wednesday. Two minutes into the game, Mike Cook was headed to the bench with two fouls and Cal U would soon have the game relatively close at 6-4. That’s when Levon Kendall stepped in, rediscovering his 3-point shot in the process.

“I got started off with some easy baskets, and I think that really got me into the game. Then with the attention they paid to Aaron, I was able to get some good open looks and knock those down. Also, I think we ran the floor really well as a group tonight, and that led to some points in transition,” Kendall said.

A trey by Kendall gave the Panthers a 9-4 lead, and Sam Young’s slam off Antonio Graves’ lob gave them a 10-point lead at 14-4. Kelvin Gray hit a triple for Cal U, but Graves followed with a 3 of his own to once again give Pitt a double-digit lead at 17-7.

The Vulcans would keep pace with the Panthers, but the combination of Kendall and Gray, along with two 3s from Fields, seemingly put Pitt in cruise control with a 39-24 lead. However, Graves’ foul on Theron Colao’s 3-pointer gave him three on the charity stripe. Kendall had 13 points by halftime, and Gray was right behind with 11.

As the second half began, Pitt’s long-distance card was paying dividends. Three-pointers by Kendall, Ronald Ramon and Graves, along with a dunk by Gray, gave the Panthers a 50-36 lead with two and a half minutes gone by in the half. Ramon was playing with a sprained ankle for the second straight game. Pitt and Cal U traded baskets until the Panthers had a seemingly safe 59-45 lead with 11:43 remaining.

Another 3 by Colao ignited the Vulcans’ 7-0 spurt. After all, Cal U came out of Maryland with a one-point loss to the Terrapins, but a moral victory.

Kendall made sure Cal U was feeling frustrated. When John Owens tried to return the game into single digits for the opposition, Kendall returned Owens’ shot to the sidelines, thus ending the Vulcans’ last gasp.

As Pitt’s upperclassmen tainted Cal U’s satisfaction, Fields showed why he is coming into his own as a point guard. He scored six points in the last four minutes, and Gray’s dunk with 13 seconds remaining closed the scoring. The senior frontcourt tandem is showing the basketball world that their chemistry couldn’t be finer.

“We’ve played together for four years now, and that experience really helps on the court. You just get an overall sense of where the other person’s going to be and what they’re going to be thinking in any situation,” Gray said.

Gray’s 23 points and 10 rebounds led the way, while Kendall followed with 21 and eight. Fellow senior Graves scored 10 and dished out a team-high eight assists, while Fields totaled 12 points for the game on a team-leading three triples. Kendall, who shot only 24 percent from downtown during his previous three years, went 2 for 3 from behind the arc on Saturday.

Dixon tried to shake up the starting lineup with Cook and Young seeing fairly minimal action, both playing 17 minutes each.

“No team uses the same starting five throughout the season, it’s the rotation as a whole that’s key,” Dixon said.

In his first action in a Pitt uniform, Gilbert Brown registered two assists in three minutes. The Panthers as a team shot 57 percent from the field, but the Vulcans attempted 26 free throws, making 20, compared to 13-of-19 on free throws for Pitt.

“They outscored us at the free throw line and we want to have far more free-throw attempts than our opponents,” Dixon added.

Owens led Cal U with 16 points as Colao and James Hairston contributed 13 and 11 respectively. The Vulcans’ 27 rebounds were not far behind Pitt’s 35, but the Panthers made a physical impression on California head coach Bill Brown.

“Compared to Maryland, this Pittsburgh team is so much more physical,” Brown said. “The [Atlantic Coast Conference] and the Big East are night and day from a physical standpoint.”

The Panthers begin their regular-season play next Sunday against Western Michigan at the Maggie Dixon Classic in West Point, N.Y., in memory of Dixon’s late sister, who coached the Army women’s basketball team. Two days later, Pitt makes its home debut when it hosts Delaware State.