Pitt makes statement, improvement in second exhibition

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Pitt’s first exhibition matchup against UC-San Diego left much to be desired from the Panthers. Friday night at the Petersen Events Center, fans likely left a little more satisfied as Pitt levied a 96-60 beatdown on Slippery Rock.

The theme of the week for Pitt, as enacted by head coach Jamie Dixon, was improvement. In a tangible sense, the 36-point win compared to last week’s 13-point margin showed just that.

“I think we obviously accomplished that,” Dixon said. “I think we had a lineup that we’d been practicing with out there most of the time, so that was good. We improved defensively on our patience more than anything, patience and understanding.”

The defense allowed one more point to the Rock that it did to the Tritons, but held Slippery Rock to 33.9 percent shooting on 19-of-56 attempts. SRU made just 7-of-27 shots in the first half as Pitt opened up a 39-20 halftime lead.

Pitt burst out of the break to start the second. When the Rock finally hit the 39-point threshold Pitt passed after one half, the Panthers led 72-39.

Durand Johnson led the Panthers in scoring Friday, with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench. Johnson led the reserves in minutes played, and his 13 attempts from the field marked a team-high.

Johnson, who saw limited minutes off the bench last season and sometimes didn’t see the court at all in games, made an early statement when it comes to how he may take advantage of forthcoming opportunities this season.

“I think I have a big opportunity to come off the bench and bring that energy, to bring that spark,” Johnson said. “I kind of see myself as the guy to pick everybody up, bring energy.”

With a late scoring flurry, Johnson passed Cameron Wright as the team’s leading scorer. Wright played the most complete game of any Panther as he scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, pulled in 10 rebounds, notched two assists and two steals, and blocked a shot.

“I give credit to my teammates for putting me in the right situations,” Wright said. “I got open a few times and I was able to knock down a few shots.”

Pitt’s success came primarily from its perimeter players, with Lamar Patterson chipping in 11 points and 5 assists as well. In the post, Talib Zanna scored 14 points and recorded 8 rebounds.

Zanna’s post play led the way for a Pitt team that Slippery Rock coach Kevin Reynolds said basically beat the Rock at their own game.

“We got knocked down a lot,” Reynolds said. “ It wasn’t anything flagrant, it was part of the game, them just running through us which is what we liked to do a whole bunch and had us on  our heels.”

Reynolds’ squad entering the game with a little bit of confidence after playing well against Southern Mississippi Tuesday. Whatever momentum emanated from Tuesday’s game dissipated rather quickly for the Rock.

“Pittsburgh is very well-coached, they have good players, and they put it on us tonight,” Reynolds said. “We haven’t been beaten like that in a long time.”

While the beatdown was more palatable than last week’s closer game, the victory was none more pleasing for Zanna and Pitt. Rather, for the Panthers, it was just another opportunity to play.

“We just want to come out and show what we can do,” Zanna said. “It’s a new conference so everybody is on the right page right now. We think we just have to come out and keep things going.”