Men’s Basketball: Pitt opens season with 33-point victory

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Pitt men’s basketball opened its season with a resounding 88-55 victory over the Tigers from Savannah State. Six Panthers scored in double-figures, led by 13 points from sophomore guard James Robinson, and Pitt out-rebounded its opposition 47-to-28.

Derrick Randall anchored the Panthers in the post, as he made the start at center in place of Talib Zanna who was suspended for Friday’s game due to a violation of team rules. Randall scored 12 points and pulled in 12 rebounds, the first double-double of his career.

It felt great,” Randall said. “It felt great going out there and playing again. I love my teammates and they would like to share the ball and everything.”

Aside from Randall, Lamar Patterson played a complete game as he tallied 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. With Patterson’s leadership from the small forward slot, head coach Jamie Dixon’s side bolted to a 40-13 halftime lead.

“Our passing with Lamar, it starts with him,” Dixon said. “I thought his passing early in the game was tremendous. It got a lot of open looks and he did a lot of things in 21 minutes.”

Next to Patterson’s performance, the Panthers received heavy contributions from other newcomers to the team in Randall, Josh Newkirk, and Michael Young. Newkirk scored 11 points and shot 4-of-6 from the field while making all three of his three-point attempts.

“It felt good finally stepping out on the floor, finally playing against somebody,” Newkirk said. “I just wanted to come out with a lot of energy and do the right things on the court and hopefully come out with a win.”

Young, who paired with Randall in the post, scored nine points and pulled in eight rebounds.

Pitt’s lead in the second half was cut to as low as 21 points in the first five minutes of the second half by head coach Horace Broadnox’s Tigers, who amped up the pressure out of halftime.

“We wanted to go with who we just wanted to play defense,” Broadnox said.

The strategy returned marginal gains, but ultimately factored in little in the game’s final 33-point margin as the Panthers adjusted appropriately after the Tigers forced four turnovers in the first five-plus minutes of the second half.

“[We] could’ve handled [pressure] better as far as some turnovers in the second half,” Dixon said. “We got sped up in constant traps, constant pressing, but that’s what they do and it’s the first game of the year.”

Pitt turned the ball over 16 times Friday, a number that will need to decrease as Pitt’s season progresses.

“We had a lot of turnovers,” Patterson said. “It was our first game, it was a blowout, so guys lost focus a little bit.”

The turnover tally was even with the 16 assists Pitt recorded. But the assists also held a positive, as the majority of Pitt’s 26 successful field goals followed a pass.

“We’ll just go and practice and work on those things,” Patterson said. “We had a lot of assists, a lot of great decisions, and a lot of great shooters out there.”