Panthers pull away to beat Loyola Marymount, 85-68

The Pitt men’s basketball team improved its record to 9-0 Friday night with a 85-68 win against Loyola Marymount.

Personal scoring totals were evenly-dispersed for the Panthers, who had five men in double figures. Junior Cameron Wright led the Panthers with 14, and Senior Talib Zanna and sophomore Durand Johnson followed with 12.

Pitt came away with a combined 23 assists on the night, which was something that impressed head coach Jamie Dixon.

“We took care of the ball, we shared it all the way through. 23 assists is an exciting number,” said Dixon.

The area that had Dixon displeased was the rebounding margin. Pitt’s starting five had a height advantage, but did not take advantage of it, as the Lions won the battle of the boards 37-35.

“Tonight we got out-rebounded,” guard Durand Johnson said. “Although it was a good team and them guys played hard, we’re much better than what we showed. That’s something we have to build on and keep getting done.”

In fact, 16 of the Lions’ rebounds came on the offensive glass.

“We need to not give up 16 offense rebounds or whatever the case may be,” Dixon added.

Coming into the game, Pitt’s defensive game plan consisted of containing Loyola Marymount’s speedy point guard Anthony Ireland, who posted 20 points on the night. Dixon stressed to his players the importance of keeping his total beneath his season average of 19 points per game.

“He’s been putting up big numbers since his freshman year,” Dixon said. “When you have the ball in your hands for four years, you’re going to be good and you’re going to be good and you’re going to be confident. He’s definitely a confident kid.”

Johnson considered the defensive matchup against Ireland a statistical victory, who went just 7-17 from the floor and 1-for-3 from the 3-point line, where he has proven to be dangerous over the course of his career.

“He shot 7-for-17,” Johnson said. “He’s a great player but I thought defensively we did a pretty good job.”

One of the most important things for Dixon and the Panthers was to keep Ireland off the free-throw line, where he shoots 84-percent and consumes a respectable chunk of points. The Panthers were unable to do that, and Ireland picked up five of his 20 points there.

The game seemed to be heading in the direction of an offensive shootout for the first 10 minutes, as Loyola Marymount shot 58.3 percent from the floor in the first 10 minutes.  

“Our defensive principles are definitely not where we want,” Wright said.