Pitt men’s basketball came away with another early season win, but it came with no help from the offensive glass.
Despite an early offensive rebounding deficit leading to multiple tie scores, Pitt (4-0) pulled away from Kent State Saturday at the Petersen Events Center by a final score of 85-76.
Although the Panthers shot well to start, kickstarted by Michael Young jumpers and James Robinson 3-pointers, Kent State continued to earn itself extra possessions on the offensive end. These second chances helped the Golden Flashes stay in the game and led as late as 12 minutes into the first half.
Eleven of Kent State’s 19 first-half rebounds came on the offensive glass, compared to Pitt’s two first-half offensive boards. Kent State outrebounded Pitt in the game 33-26.
Still, thanks to a 60 percent first-half shooting clip, Pitt slowly grew a lead to 10 points at halftime. Young continuously found himself space in the post and hit baseline jumpers to score 12 points in the first half on 6-7 shooting.
Pitt continued its strong shooting in the second half, especially from 3-point range. The Panthers made six of their first seven long distance shots, and Robinson hit 3-4 from deep for 18 total points to go with his 10 assists.
Five minutes into the second half, Kent State forward Jimmy Hall stole the ball from center Rafael Maia after a physical battle down low. As Maia ran back on defense, Hall swung his arm at the back of Maia’s head, earning himself a flagrant foul, and the Pitt center made both of the resulting free throws to give the Panthers a 56-41 advantage.
Pitt held the lead around 10 points for most of the rest of the second half thanks to efficient shooting. Young and Jamel Artis combined to hit 17 of their first 21 shots. Young finished with 23 points, and Artis tallied 19.
Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon made halftime adjustments about the rebounding differential, and Maia and Nelson-Ododa rotated in for most of the remainder of the game. While Pitt still lost the rebounding battle, it made up for the deficiency by shooting 62 percent from 3-point range.
Pitt’s next game comes on Tuesday at 9 p.m. when it hosts No. 15 Purdue as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.