Panthers hang on for tough road win at Maryland

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Fans at the Comcast Center Saturday evening continued pouring through the gates throughout the first 10 minutes, and as the empty seats became filled Maryland seemed to react with points.

The Terrapins built a quick lead following the tip. Two consecutive shots by Jake Layman and Evan Smotrycz, followed by a Dez Wells dunk electrified the building, but Pitt coach Jamie Dixon resisted panic as his team kept one theme in mind:  poise.

“We talked about them getting off to a good start because they’re going to be out there aggressively and [they’ll be] coming after us,” said Dixon. “I thought we handled that well, didn’t panic, didn’t call timeout, just [said], ‘we’re going to be alright’ and I thought we executed and did a great job.”

Throughout the game, Dixon’s players wound the shot clock down on most of their possessions while shooting 51-percent from the field, triggering a 83-79 win.

Maryland threw many defenses – a 1-3-1 halfcourt zone, a full-court press, among others – at the Panthers, who didn’t seem to be fazed.

Lamar Patterson was one such Panther. Patterson led Pitt (18-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 28 points and 7 assists. The load of his points came on fast break lay-ups and at the free-throw line, where he had 12, after breaking presses.

“They’ve either got to collapse on me or sag off on some of my teammates,” said Patterson of the pressure. “So it’s either a bucket for me or a drop off to Talib [Zanna].”

Zanna finished with 16 points of his own, 8 from the foul line, and he collected seven rebounds.

Pitt amassed a 13-point lead at 11:46 mark – its largest of the night. Yet, Maryland (11-9, 3-4 ACC) crawled its way back into the game, so did its fans.

Heading into the contest, the Panthers assumed two responsibilities:  contain junior forward Dez Wells, who is averaging 14.7 points per game, and prevent sophomore guard Jake Layman and junior forward Evan Smotrycz, who shoot 37.7 percent from beyond the arc, from taking open 3-point shots.

The Panthers did not take care of either, but luckily for Pitt fans, Maryland’s shooters were dismal from the 3-point line, going just 4-of-17.

As for Dez Wells, the junior guard took a double-digit lead and brought the Terrapins within contention.

With 34 seconds remaining, Wells hit two free throws to pull Maryland within five, 81-76.

From there, though, a quick foul put Zanna at the line, where he hit one of two, and Cameron Wright hit another nine seconds later to secure the win.

Wells finished 19 points on the night, and his coach Mark Turgeon said a win for Maryland would have meant a lot because the Panthers are an underrated squad.

“I’ve been an assistant coach and a head coach for 26 years,” said Turgeon. “And I’m telling you, that’s one of the best teams I’ve ever coached against. How they’re ranked 20th at 18-2 is an absolute joke. I think they’re a top five team in the country.”

“To come into this building and really control the game – up 8 or 10 most of the second half – shows you how good they are,” Turgeon added.

Pitt will return to action on Monday night at the Petersen Events Center, when the Panthers host No. 18 Duke at 7 p.m.