Fields directs offense in another win

It was a little after the eight-minute mark had passed in the first half when Levance Fields… It was a little after the eight-minute mark had passed in the first half when Levance Fields ran the ball up court. He stopped on a dime at the top of the key and dished to a wide-open Aaron Gray underneath.

It was too easy.

“I just got to put it up there, and he puts it in,” Fields said.

Gray slammed it home for two of his 17 total points as the Panthers (2-0, 0-0 Big East) rolled over Delaware State, 67-50, in their home opener in front of 10,021 at the Petersen Events Center last night.

Pitt starts the season 2-0 after beating Western Michigan in the Maggie Dixon Classic at West Point, N.Y., on Sunday.

The Panthers led for the entire first half, but Delaware State’s Aaron Fleetwood tried to steal some of the momentum going into the locker room, sinking two 3-pointers within a minute of each other as time ran down.

But Fields proved he can shoot as well as he can pass, draining a 3 of his own with one second left to put Pitt up 37-27 at the break.

“[Shooting] is not really my priority right now,” Fields said. “But when shots present themselves, I’ll take them.”

The Brooklyn native mostly passed on the night, finishing with a game-high eight assists, several of them going to Gray. The sophomore and junior Ronald Ramon rotated at point guard during the game, something Dixon plans to see a lot of.

“Levance did a great job and Ron gives us some more scoring coming off the bench,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. “We have a combo of two very good players that would start on most teams.”

The Panthers converted on 24 total field goals, 20 coming off assists – something Dixon called “key.”

“We were moving the ball well and with so many guys, we can really play with confidence in each other,” Gray said. “That’s definitely going to help us down the road.”

Forward Levon Kendall also reaped the benefits of the stellar guard play provided by Fields and Ronald Ramon. Kendall ended up with 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting, adding four free throws.

“Trying to get the ball inside is always a priority for us,” Kendall said. “Aaron draws a lot of attention, and it gets other guys the ball so we can wear them down.”

Gray and Kendall combined for 27 and most of Pitt’s post points. The Panthers out-scored the Hornets 32-18 underneath.

“This was an indication of just how good Pitt can play,” Delaware State head coach Greg Jackson said. “They definitely deserve the number-four ranking. I don’t think we’re going to play anybody in our league that big and strong and talented.”

The Hornets won the Mid-Eastern American Conference last year and were picked to win it again before this season started. That’s why Dixon scheduled the Hornets, who didn’t disappoint him.

“This was exactly what we thought it would be,” Dixon said of the game. “They controlled the clock, and it took patience, but I thought we handled it well.”

“They wanted to us with someone patient, and those guys were,” Kendall said of the Hornets. “I think it was good preparation, and it should help us down the road.”

The win moves Pitt’s non-conference win streak to 13 games, dating back to the 2004-05 season when the Panthers lost at home to Bucknell. Throughout the last six years, Pitt is a combined 57-3 against non-conference opponents.

The Panthers are now 2-0 against Delaware State. Their last meeting was an 81-48 rout of the Hornets in 1981.

Dixon kept the starting lineup he used in Pitt’s first game, which left out Ronald Ramon and Sam Young, but rotated nine different Panthers throughout the game.

The Panthers return to action on Friday against Northeastern in the first game of the Colonial Classic tournament, in which Pitt is set to play three games in three days.

“Coaches like three to four days to get prepared for a game, but it is what it is,” Dixon said of the tight scheduling. “It’ll be good preparation for the Big East Tournament, and we’re a pretty deep team, so fatigue shouldn’t be a problem.”