Panthers pummel Penn State

Pitt used a dominating rebound performance to cruise to its second 37-point win in less than a… Pitt used a dominating rebound performance to cruise to its second 37-point win in less than a week, this one a 91-54 thrashing of Penn State Saturday afternoon in the Pete.

“We were beat by a better team,” Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis said. “They were faster, stronger and quicker. They did what they wanted to against us right from the start. We simply didn’t have answers for the way they played.”

The Panthers (7-0 overall, 0-0 Big East) pummeled the Nittany Lions (4-3, 0-0 Big Ten) on the glass, snatching 24 offensive rebounds that led to 32 second-chance points. Pitt’s control inside, combined with the strong guard play of senior Carl Krauser, who scored 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting, led to a quick 7-0 lead, one that the Panthers would never relinquish in winning its fifth straight in the series.

“He’s very adept at playing under control, at getting his teammates involved and letting the game come to him,” DeChellis said of Krauser, who also torched his Lions for 28 points in the Panthers’ 84-71 win last year. “There’s very little you can do to excite him.”

Not to be outdone, junior center Aaron Gray and senior forward Levon Kendall controlled the paint, Gray notching his fifth double-double of the season (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Kendall defending the post while chipping in 10 points and seven rebounds himself.

“Aaron Gray is a tall kid who always manages to get position and make you shoot over him,” DeChellis said. “Levon Kendall is very smart, he doesn’t force anything and rebounds very well.”

Also getting in on the fun of the pounding of the Nittany Lions – the Panthers led by as many as 38 and held a 46-18 edge in points in the paint – was senior forward John DeGroat. The junior-college transfer, in his first year as a starter, poured in 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting while collecting three rebounds. The most noticeable aspect of his game, however, was his improved defense.

“[Starting out strong] is very important, the beginning of the game is the most important part of the game because how you start the game is how you’re going to finish the game,” he said of Pitt’s early defensive success. “So we started off strong from the gate, and we wanted to get in and play hard defense and that’s what we did the rest of the game.”

Pitt forced 22 Nittany Lion turnovers, scoring 24 points off Penn State’s miscues. Also a point of interest for the Panthers was defending the 3-point shot, with special consideration given to Penn State guard Mike Walker. Last year, the Lions erased a double-digit deficit by hitting 11 3-pointers, four coming from Walker, to give Pitt a scare before the Panthers closed out the win.

On Saturday, Walker hit only one of his three attempts from behind the arc while the team only managed to make six 3s.

From there, the Panthers continued to swallow up offensive rebounds as eight different players pulled down at least one offensive rebound and half that many pulled in at least three. Five minutes into the second half, the Panthers had more offensive rebounds (16) than Penn State had total rebounds (14), something Pitt used to extend a 49-24 halftime lead to a 60-29 massacre.

“If it’s a good shot, everyone knows it’s going up, and you’re in position to crash and be there,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. “Offensive rebounding is a part of our offense.”

When the Panthers weren’t getting second looks at the basket – the offensive rebounds helped Pitt to 79 field-goal attempts, 30 more than the Nittany Lions mustered – Krauser had his way with the defense. He also dished out six assists, a memorable one coming in the second half on a fast-break opportunity.

Freshman guard Levance Fields collected a loose ball in his own half of the court that had been poked away by another Pitt defender. Fields heaved it upcourt to a streaking Krauser, who penetrated left and had a wide-open lane to the basket for what would be an easy two points.

But that, like many other things, would have been too easy to do on this day.

He instead felt the presence of Kendall streaking down the right side just a few feet behind him. Krauser faked the drive and then laid the ball backwards over his right shoulder, leaving a nearby defender in the dust and the ball in perfect position for Kendall to slam it home, sending the crowd of 10,461 to its feet.

“He’s an unselfish guy, a team guy,” Dixon said of Krauser. “The pass to Levon, he could have had a layup.”

“I saw it all while I was running down the court,” Krauser said of the pass. “I knew I could either go back to Levon or on the left wing for an alley-oop.”

The fifth-year senior went on to say he played with an energy that he hasn’t felt in quite some time.

“I haven’t felt anything like that since my freshman year,” he said with a smile. “I like to share the ball with my teammates.”

Krauser will have some time off before that energy is put on display again, however. His undefeated Panthers are off until Saturday when the Catamounts of Vermont come to the Petersen Events Center for a 4 p.m. tip-off.