Pitt wins final exhibition game

Following Pitt’s final exhibition game of the 2002 preseason Saturday, Panther guard Carl… Following Pitt’s final exhibition game of the 2002 preseason Saturday, Panther guard Carl Krauser was asked if he was prepared to face regular season competition that knew what to expect from him on the court.

Krauser shrugged. “They can know what they want,” he said. “I’m going to go right at them. I’m going to make them know who I am.”

Krauser took a big step in making everyone know who he is last weekend, as he scored 22 points in 27 minutes of play to lead the No. 4 Panthers to a 78-51 victory over the One World All-Stars.

Krauser’s big night did not come without a cost for the Panthers. Junior guard Julius Page did not play because of a muscle spasm suffered during an afternoon shoot-around. While the injury was not serious enough to keep Page out of practice next week, it was painful enough to warrant a rest in an exhibition game. Page’s injury gave Krauser a rare start, and the redshirt freshman took full advantage of the opportunity.

“I’ve been telling people that Carl’s going to be a great player for a year now,” Pitt head coach Ben Howland said. “He plays with a lot of confidence and he’s not afraid. He’s not your normal first-year player.”

Howland also stressed the importance of depth in an offensive system that is heavily reliant on successful guard play.

“Brandin, Julius and Carl are all great players, and when I have any one of those three kids in the game, I think we have a chance to be successful,” Howland said. “We lose nothing putting Carl into the game to sub in for someone. And that’s going to help us in the long haul when we get toward the end of the season.”

The Panthers’ blowout victory was not without a shaky start. Pitt pushed the ball in transition early on, but Krauser and Knight made a series of razzle-dazzle passes that resulted in big crowd reactions but no points. One World center Gordon Malone dominated the paint in the first half, grabbing nine quick rebounds, and when Chevon Troutman jumped on a loose ball and called timeout with 13:02 going in the half, the Panthers led by only three points.

Pitt widened the gap to 16-11 coming out of the timeout, but One World fought back, and an All-Star 6-0 run tied the game at 18. Pitt forward Donatas Zavackas sparked the Panthers on a 9-0 run of their own when he drove the baseline with 6:26 to go and jumped across the lane to hit a double-pump layup. But the All-Stars clawed back again, and some steady defensive play down the stretch coupled with a Brian Lewin free throw with 1:40 to go cut the halftime lead to 29-25 for the Panthers.

“In the first half, I was disappointed in the score,” Howland said. “I thought at times we played well, but we didn’t take good care of the ball.”

Taking care of the ball was no problem for the Panthers after halftime. Pitt settled down on defense and held the All-Stars to no points for a total of almost nine minutes in the second half. Pitt’s defense forced One World to shoot 34 percent from the field in the second half and the Panthers out-rebounded the All-Stars 31-17 following the break.

Zavackas scored 10 second-half points on two-for-four from three-point land, as the Panthers out-scored the All-Stars by 23 points in the second.

Krauser added five rebounds and five assists to his game-high 22 points, and Zavackas finished the game with 13 points and eight rebounds. Forwards Jaron Brown and Troutman made their presence felt in the paint in the second half, and both fell just short of double-doubles. Brown scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards, and Troutman came off the bench to grab a game-high 11 rebounds and score eight points.

Pitt, 2-0 in exhibition play, will open the 2002-2003 regular season Saturday night when it hosts cross-town rival Duquesne at the Petersen Events Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.