Panthers notch wire-to-wire win over Texas Tech in Brooklyn

Follow @NateBarnes_TPN

Shortly after Pitt’s game against Texas Tech began at the Barclays Center Monday evening, it was just about over. The Panthers jumped out to a 26-point lead early and had no trouble in a 23-point wire-to-wire victory over the Red Raiders, 76-53.

Pitt moves (5-0) on to the final of the Progressive Legends Classic with its victory Monday, where the Panthers will play either Stanford or Houston Tuesday.

Lamar Patterson led the early charge, as he scored 14 points in the first half. When Patterson canned a 3-pointer with 3:35 remaining in the first half, his individual point total outpaced the 13 scored by Texas Tech in the game’s first 16-plus minutes.

Patterson finished with a career night, scoring 23 points to top his previous career-high of 22. Patterson shot 8-of-13 from the field, 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and added four steals, three assists, and two rebounds.

Next to Patterson, shooting guard Cam Wright added 12 on 4-of-6 shooting as the only other Panther to reach double-figures. James Robinson added nine points and Chris Jones scored eight off the bench.

The first half ended with Pitt holding a 41-18 lead, after the Panthers shot 12-for-26 from the field for a 46.2 percent clip. Defensively, the Panthers allowed the Red Raiders to convert just 6-of-24 attempts for a meager 25 percent rate.

Factoring in Pitt’s early success defending the basket were the 12 turnovers the Panthers forced at Texas Tech’s expense. As a result, Tubby Smith’s unit was never able to establish much of an offensive rhythm Monday.

Texas Tech (4-2) found its offensive game early in the second half, as the Red Raiders shot 5-of-6 to start the half. But Pitt kept pace and its lead ballooned to as much as 28 points after Jones connected from distance to put the Panthers up 73-45 with 4:21 left in the game.

Jaye Crockett led the Red Raiders second-half efforts as he scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the period. His seven rebounds led all players Monday.

Crockett shot 9-of-11 Monday, but received little support from his teammates. Crockett was the only Texas Tech player to hit double-digits in scoring, with the next-closest being Jordan Tolbert who shot 2-for-7 and scored seven points.

Ultimately, the Panthers shot 48.1 percent from the field on 25-of-52 shooting while the Red Raiders finished 19-for-50 from the field. The Panthers were also on the money from 3-point land, hitting 10-of-23 attempts for an excellent 43.5 percent rate from long range.

Pitt’s talent on the perimeter once again propelled the Panthers to victory, as Pitt was unable to get Talib Zanna going early. Zanna sat on the bench for most of the first half with foul trouble and had little impact on Monday’s proceedings.

Zanna entered the game as Pitt’s leading scorer at 15.3 points per game, but scored only three points and recorded three rebounds.  Derrick Randall led the Panthers with five rebounds off the bench, but Pitt still managed to out-rebound Texas Tech by a 33-30 tally.