Panthers steadily pull away

Jamie Dixon didn’t appear too concerned after his team’s lackluster 74-55 exhibition win over… Jamie Dixon didn’t appear too concerned after his team’s lackluster 74-55 exhibition win over Division II Indiana (Pa.) Sunday.

His team, after all, is very young, has only been through 22 practices and is trying to replace its two go-to post players in Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft.

But should all of that translate into 22 first-half turnovers against IUP?

“That’s why we play the exhibition games,” Dixon said. “Half the guys out there are new. We made some mistakes. I guess it depends on how you look at it. We had 22 [turnovers] in the first half and only four in the second half. Our guys did a good job of adapting in the second half.”

After a first half where Pitt had one more turnover than field goal attempts, the Panthers struggled with an aggressive Indian defense that forced 10 steals. Several times, Dixon’s team looked confused and flustered when IUP sent two to trap Pitt ball handlers once they crossed half-court.

While the Panthers ultimately wore down an overmatched Indians team, few things came easily that day. Pitt only led by two at the half and needed a mid-range jumper by junior guard Antonio Graves just to pull ahead after the Indians used a 6-0 run to tie the score at 27.

The score put an end to an opening half that, while ugly, senior point guard Carl Krauser said can be used as a learning tool.

“That first half was a great lesson for us,” Krauser said. “Having 22 turnovers is unacceptable for a Division I team in the Big East. That experience in the first 20 minutes was a good one. We’ll watch film and learn from our mistakes. We’ll correct it and get better in practice.”

Pitt outscored the Indians 45-28 in the final frame, shooting 58.6 percent over the final 20 minutes to open up a lead that stayed in double digits midway through. Freshman Sam Young scored all but two of his game-high 16 in that half, including several jaw-dropping dunks that excited those of the 6,654 who stayed to the end.

But Young was one of the few bright spots for the Panthers on a day when the Panthers hit only three of their 19 3-point attempts and struggled with IUP’s extended press. The first half was tight throughout; Pitt’s largest lead (27-21) came off a fast-break dunk by Graves, which was assisted by Krauser with 3:58 left.

After a block by Young on the defensive end, the ball ended up in the hands of Krauser, who brought it up the middle of the court. The senior drew a defender as Graves became open on his right. Krauser looked him off, but then threw a one-handed pass off the dribble to a then wide-open Graves, who slammed it home.

The Indians, however, scored the next six points, the last a layup from Dontaie Anthony, who led IUP with 12 points on the day. Graves’ ensuing jumper gave the Panthers the lead for good, but the first half was a far cry from Pitt’s early offensive outburst in last week’s 100-42 win over Slippery Rock.

Still, the Indians played defense with enthusiasm and showed no signs of a team that has been going through problems off the court.

Four of IUP’s senior starters are currently facing charges stemming from an Oct. 15 bar fight in Indiana, Pa., that police say the quartet started. Despite the charges, Eddie Peterson, Lawrence Baker, Avery Oliver and Damar Ruffin all started and played in the game against Pitt.

The charges are unrelated to the team’s current investigation by the NCAA, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Head coach Gary Edwards has been placed on administrative leave as the NCAA investigates the program, one of the issues being the question of IUP “circumventing the residency requirements for out-of-state players so they would be considered in-state to save the program scholarship funds.” For now, the Indians are playing under interim head coach Wes Layton.

While Krauser and Young talked of IUP playing an inspired ballgame in light of the off-court difficulties, Young still pointed to Pitt’s need to grow before the team’s regular-season opener against St. Peter’s Saturday night.

“We’re growing together,” he said. “We still don’t have the chemistry we need. We’re still trying to figure that out. By the end of the season, we’ll be an awesome team