Taft rejuvinated after big game against Friars

Two comeback victories against the best of the Big East Conference have jolted a Pitt men’s… Two comeback victories against the best of the Big East Conference have jolted a Pitt men’s basketball team that found itself in a dismal slump just a few weeks ago.

With the two victories, Pitt’s ship was turning in the right direction, but one thing was missing: the dominating presence of sophomore Chris Taft underneath.

On the big stage in those two games against Syracuse and Connecticut, Taft put up combined numbers of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Not the type of numbers Pitt fans had expected from the returning Big East freshman of the year.

“The way that I was playing the last two games, just isn’t me,” Taft said after the win against Providence. “I need to play with a lot more energy than I have been.”

Taft provided that energy Monday night, not only just for himself, but the whole team as well, setting season highs in rebounds (15) and points (25). He scored at will, rebounded everything and played with an intensity that not many others matched on the court.

His nine defensive rebounds matched the total number of rebounds put up by the Friar frontline altogether, holding national player of the year candidate Ryan Gomes to just three boards himself.

Before Monday night’s game, Providence head coach Tim Welsh had a few of his people tell him that Taft hadn’t been playing well recently, to which Welsh immediately responded, “Don’t tell me he’s not been playing well. That guy’s a monster,” he said.

“Taft can break out at any time,” he added. “And tonight he really got up on the glass and got going.”

Quietly, in the first half, Taft possessed a stat line of 10 points and seven rebounds, but it was his second half that stood out in the eyes of everyone involved, as he put up 15 points and eight boards on the half.

Point guard Carl Krauser made numerous drives to the inside, dishing the ball around to either Taft or Chevon Troutman for his nine assists, but it was the extra passes from Troutman that led to easy buckets for Taft on the inside.

“I just try to post up aggressively,” Taft said. “I know that if I do that, that whoever has the ball will look for me inside.”

Late in the second half, Taft continuously pounded nail after nail into Providence’s coffin with tip-ins, second-chance points, key rebounds, dunks and even a perfect three of three from the free-throw line.

In a 1 minute, 10 second span and with time running out, Taft scored six points on two dunks and an easy layup to help seal off a 20-point victory for the Panthers — their third win in a row and their fifth in six games.

“Chris has played well, and we know he’s trying his best as a player out there,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said.

Taft looks to gain momentum from this game, as Pitt will travel next to Morgantown, W. Va., to battle the Mountaineers on Saturday.

The matchup will put Taft up against West Virginia’s center D’or Fischer — a defensive specialist who set the Mountaineer record for blocked shots last season with 124.

“It’s hard to see anyone stopping Taft and the rest of those guys underneath for Pittsburgh,” Welsh said. “They are almost like the Steelers. They keep coming at you and just pound you up.”