Panthers trounce Lions
PITTSBURGH – In the absence of the Pitt-Penn State rivalry in football, the Panther basketball team has been forced to keep up the tradition. They held up their end by blowing the visiting Nittany Lions out of the Peterson Events Center, 64-37, Saturday. “We were happy with our play,” Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon said. “This was a big rivalry game for us.”
Both Dixon and Penn State Head Coach Ed DeChellis are in their first year of head coaching at their respective schools. Dixon’s 6-0 start is the best for a first-year head coach at Pittsburgh. DeChellis, a Beaver County native, was disappointed with the performance of his team in somewhat of a homecoming.
“We wanted to come in here, play a game and compete, but obviously didn’t do that tonight,” DeChellis said. “I had some family here watching but I doubt they stayed for the whole game because we had a total breakdown on both sides of the ball, so I’m sure my mother will give me an earful tonight.”
Pitt jumped to a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game on six early points by Toree Morris and never looked back. Carl Krauser and Jaron Brown powered the Panthers with 14 points each in an offensive scheme that was in sync from the start, a quality they had lacked in their previous five games.
“Our players came out ready to play this game and by executing well early and making some shots, we set the tone,” Dixon said. “We took what was given to us and didn’t let up on offense or defense.”
The Panther defense held Penn State held to a measly 11 points in the first half. The Nittany Lions committed 10 turnovers and had seven shots blocked before halftime.
“We wanted to focus on defense but to be honest, we didn’t think we would hold them to 11 points in the first half,” Dixon said. “We took them out of their offense early and all our guys played great defense.”
Halfway into the first half, the Panthers opened up a 21-point lead after Jaron Brown hit a layup. He had been off to a slow start offensively this year, but paced Pittsburgh in the first half with 10 points.
“I really didn’t do anything different on offense this game,” Brown said. “I was just at the right place at the right time and my shots went in tonight.”
After taking a 39-11 lead at halftime, Chevon Troutman hit a layup two minutes into the second half, giving the Panthers their first 30-point lead of the game, 41-11. Troutman has gotten off to a slow start this season on offense. This is the second game in a row that he committed two fouls in the first half, and failed to score in double figures for the game.
Four other Panthers picked up the slack on offense, though by scoring in double-figures. Besides Brown and Krauser, Chris Taft scored 12 points and Julius Page added 11.
“We have good balance, a lot of guys who can score, we they take what’s given and what’s available so that’s the sign of a good team,” Dixon said. “We want to keep improving, we have a lot of depth and we want to continue to develop that depth.”
Taft is one youngster who continues to improve. The 6-10 freshman center missed a double-double by one rebound. He arrived at Pitt talented on offense, but also bought into the tough defense the Panthers take pride in playing.
“I’ve learned a lot about playing defense here but this is a system that was not hard for me to relate to,” Taft said. “We intimidated them [Penn State] a lot on defense tonight and that helped us get off to such a good start for the first time this season.”
Krauser has been the leading scorer in five of Pitt’s first six games this season. Besides his scoring against the Nittany Lions, his floor game of five assists and only one turnover contributed to the Panthers success.
“Carl [Krauser] set the tone early with his passing and skipped some open shots to set up some better shots,” Dixon said. “He ran the team terrific today and our unselfishness was clear a big reason we got out to such a big early lead.”
Krauser feels he can play just as big a factor with his assists and defense as his scoring. He did it all against the Lions, adding 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 blocked shot to his 14 points on offense.
“Getting an assist is just as good as hitting a shot for me because I love setting the tone for my team by moving the ball and getting guys open shots,” Krauser said “I focused on ball pressure, containing their dribble and trying to distract them [Penn State] on defense.”
The University of Pittsburgh is now in the middle of their finals period, so the Panthers will not play another game until next Saturday, when they host Youngstown State.