Panthers breeze past Eagles
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Pittsburgh has held every opponent under 60 points this season except one, when Penn State scored 71 a week ago in a 13-point Panthers’ win. Pitt returned to its stingy ways on defense Saturday night by manhandling Coppin State at the Petersen Events Center, 73-42, in front of 8,734 fans to remain perfect.
The Panthers, ranked No. 10 in both polls, improved to 8-0 and were never challenged by the visiting Eagles, despite Chevon Troutman having an off-night.
Pitt was without the services of Mark McCarroll, who suffered a concussion against Penn State, and also lost guard Antonio Graves after he sprained his left ankle late in the first half.
Troutman entered the game as Pitt’s leading scorer and rebounder, but Coppin State held him to four points and two rebounds.
Chris Taft scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Aaron Gray pitched in at the center position with a career-high nine points and six boards.
“I wasn’t worried about them [Coppin State] doubling down on Chevy [Troutman] and me doing something different,” Taft said. “I was still trying to play my game, and it worked out for me tonight, especially at the foul line.”
The Panthers went to the foul line 33 times, and made 22 free throws, including 11 trips by Taft.
“If we were to have any kind of chance to win here, we had to rebound the basketball, defend turnovers, and set the tempo, we did none of that, Coppin State coach Fang Mitchell said. “I thought we would do a better job with our zone against their big men, but they pounded us on the glass, got numerous second shots, and scored more points in the paint than any team against us all year.”
Pittsburgh’s Carl Krauser picked up his second and third fouls 90 seconds into the second half, but still managed to score 17 points.
The Panthers’ Keith Benjamin supplemented the depleted backcourt and logged 13 minutes, scored two points, pulled down four rebounds, and dished two assists. Levon Kendall picked up the slack in the frontcourt and played a career-high 18 minutes.
“It was good to see how our guys would react because it’s not too often there are that many inexperienced players on the court at the same time,” said Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. “Levon [Kendall] is a good athlete, I thought Keith [Benjamin] got better as the game went on, and I was real pleased with the effort from our bench tonight.”
Pitt’s defense harassed Coppin State throughout the game, especially early on, as the Panthers held the Eagles scoreless through the game’s first five minutes. In Coppin State’s first seven possessions, the Eagles committed three shot-clock violations, missed four shots badly, including two on one possession, and made one basket.
The Panthers started out slow on offense themselves and held only an 8-2 lead six minutes into the game as Taft turned the ball over three times underneath the basket. He woke up late in the first half, though, and fueled a Pitt run.
Taft converted a putback off a Krauser miss, dunked an alley oop feed from Krauser and hit a short jumper in the lane with less than three minutes left in the half to give the Panthers a 32-12 lead. He led all scorers at the break with 11 points.
Graves scored four points, dished two assists, and pulled down two rebounds in the first half before leaving the game. His status will be evaluated Monday.
Pitt pushed its lead to 30 points when Gray stole a pass at the top of the key and lumbered down the court for a single-handed fast break. He was fouled on the drive from behind, but made a free throw to extend Pitt’s lead to 58-28 with eight minutes remaining.
“We see Levon [Kendall] in practice chase people down the court on fast breaks all the time, so that play was no surprise to us,” Dixon said. “It was just one more example of the hustle all our guys give, whether they are starters or coming off the bench.”