Men’s Basketball: Unselfish Panthers trounce Wake Forest

With 36 seconds to play in the first half, and Pitt already well ahead of Wake Forest, freshman point guard Josh Newkirk halted his dribble at the top of the 3-point arc. Newkirk calmly dished the ball to his right, where senior forward Lamar Patterson collected it, lifted his long arms and sank a 3-pointer.

Patterson’s smooth stroke closed the first half. Later, he showcased his pinpoint passing, finding a cutting Cameron Wright on consecutive plays to open the second half.

Near the end of the game, an afternoon filled with repeat performances of playing the role of scorer then helper, Patterson sauntered off the court to the sellout crowd’s standing ovation.

Patterson poured in 27 points on 10-of-17 field goals — including 4-of-7 from 3-point range — and posted six assists to lead a dominating passing attack that pushed Pitt to an 80-65 victory Saturday against Wake Forest at the Petersen Events Center.

“Unselfishness breeds unselfishness,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “So the more guys you have on the team willing to [share the ball], the more effective the team is going to be.”

Pitt, which never trailed and led by as many as 22 points in the second half, shared the ball and reaped the rewards, finishing with 19 assists on 26 field goals and a 49.1 percent shooting percentage.

The Panthers (15-1, 3-0 ACC) worked the ball around early and often, posting eight assists on 14 first-half field goals that allowed them to jump to a 40-26 lead by halftime. Their distribution spread out the Wake Forest defense, perhaps tiring the Demon Deacons’ legs and contributing to a paltry 25.9 percent first-half shooting percentage.

“I think it’s definitely a mindset,” sophomore point guard James Robinson said of the Panthers willingness to move the basketball around the court. “We have a team made up of all unselfish players. … We try to make sure we share the ball and make sure we get an open shot.”

Talib Zanna, who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds to post his fifth double-double of the season, was the beneficiary of those open looks on consecutive possessions in the first half.

With more than 14 minutes to play, Newkirk dribbled just outside the left elbow before his defender stabbed at the ball. Newkirk, a fast-twitch sprinter of a point guard, corkscrewed away from the jabbing opponent, darted toward the paint and slipped a no-look bounce pass to a wide-open Zanna, who finished the sequence with a two-handed flush that pushed Pitt ahead, 14-6.

Wright was the next to feed Zanna. He faked a shot, and Zanna rolled off his pick and found another open lane to dunk the ball, inciting roars from an electrified crowd.

Wake Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik was less enthused.

Bzdelik spoke soberly after Pitt dispatched his Demon Deacons (11-5, 1-3), pointing to other areas of the Panthers’ dominance. He recounted the stats, which sounded like painful barbs as one after another trickled out of his mouth.

“Pitt was tougher on the boards than we were,” he said. “They got as many offensive rebounds as we got defensive rebounds, [16].”

Bzdelik eventually embodied a belief more like the one the crowd displayed throughout the game. He praised Patterson, albeit less cheerfully, recognizing the Panthers’ leader as a key to the victory and the team’s early success.

“They have a great leader who can score in a variety of ways,” Bzdelik said. “He’s tough and gritty and experienced.”

Tough, gritty and experienced? That’s natural to Patterson.

“We are just playing Pitt basketball right now,” Patterson said of the team’s flying start. “We want to grind teams out and see if they can last throughout the whole 40 minutes with us.”