Pitt rolls past Murray State
PITTSBURGH – Two undefeated teams faced each other in the continuation of the Holiday Hoops Classic Saturday night. After the smoke cleared, No.18 Pittsburgh remained unbeaten in the Petersen Events Center (24-0) and pushed its season record to a perfect 10-0 after running over the Murray State Racers, 70-49.
“This was obviously a very good win against a very good team,” Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. “We were happy with the way we played and we responded to some challenges tonight.”
One of the biggest challenges the Panthers had to overcome was playing without starting power forward Chevon Troutman. He sat out with a pulled groin he suffered in practice last week and re-aggravated in the Panthers’ game against Chicago State Wednesday night.
Mark McCarroll, a 6-11 redshirt junior, logged his first career-start in Troutman’s place and played admirably by scoring 14 points and pulling down five rebounds in 23 minutes.
“We had some guys step up tonight like Mark McCarroll and Levon Kendall,” Dixon said. “We beat a good team without one of our best players so that was a good sign.”
Red-shirt freshman Levon Kendall also contributed at the power forward slot and scored a careeer-high 11 points. He also played 16 minutes, another career high.
“I’ve been shooting in practice and have the mentality and the confidence in myself to make jumpers,” Kendall said.
“I was anxious after sitting out last year, so it felt great, especially when I got a nice applause from the crowd.”
The Pittsburgh defense held Murray State, who hales from Murray, Ky. and plays in the Ohio Valley Conference, to a mere 29 percent shooting from the floor. Racer head coach Mick Cronin credited Pitt’s big men for defending the middle and his team’s poor shooting from the outside as the reason Pitt pulled out the victory.
“We knew their size inside was an advantage, and we had to hit open 3’s to win, but we didn’t,” Cronin said. “Their size bothered us and they are an unbelievable defensive team who really help each other on defense.”
Cronin also credited Pittsburgh as being a sound team overall and he feels the Panthers have the potential to be a very good team this season.
“I told our kids after the game that we just lost to the Big East champs and those guys got rings for the reason,” Cronin said. “I have been around winning programs my whole career and they [Pittsburgh] have what it takes, they’re all about winning, and that’s why this program is rolling.”
Pittsburgh point guard Carl Krauser began the game in sloppy fashion. He missed a layup, botched an alley-oop, then had the ball stolen from him and committed a foul trying to get it back.
Murray State took advantage of the miscues by scoring the first bucket of the game and held onto the lead through the first eight minutes of the game. Krauser quickly recovered and settled down to lead the Panther charge throughout the half. He led all scorers at halftime with 12 points, including a running jumper at the 7:30 mark that capped off a 10-Pitt run. He also led all scorers for the game with 19.
Pitt took its first lead at 11:43 when Julius Page made 2 free throws, giving the Panthers a 13-11 edge. They remained solid on both sides of the ball in the first half on their way to a 36-23 lead at the break, their biggest lead of the game.
Throughout the second half, Racers were unable to break the defensive clamp the Panthers held, and never got any closer than nine points. Freshman phenom, 6-10 center Chris Taft led the defensive charge by swatting away 7 shots, which tied the school record. He also scored 10 points.
“I feel I can play offense and defense and help my team out on both ends of the floor,” Taft said. “I go out every game as a challenge, no matter who I’m playing.”
The inside combination of Taft, 6-11 McCarroll, and 7-0 Aaron Gray controlled the inside on defense throughout the game which was a key in shutting down the Racers, who were one of the highest-scoring teams in the country. Murray State forward Victor Cuthbert felt Pitt’s size was intimidating to him and his entire team.
“They were big to begin with, and every time somebody came off the bench, they just kept getting bigger and bigger,” Cuthbert said. “Every time we tried to go inside, they [Pitt defense] were in position.”
Dixon credited Pittsburgh for playing perhaps its most complete game of the season so far. He is now looking forward to the Panthers undefeated home winning streak and undefeated season remaining intact when they face Florida State in the tournament finale Monday night.
“We played great team defense, had very few mental breakdowns, and we are getting better as the year progresses, which is great to see,” Dixon said. “We know Florida State plays good defense and gets after it, so I’m sure they’ll be ready to play a great game and we’re expecting a great matchup on Monday.”