As the old saying goes a win is a win, the Panthers know that quite well after their game against Western Carolina. The contest came down to Pitt making a late run to take the 79-73 victory.
Recap:
The start of this game followed the same trend as the last couple, as Pitt came out sluggish. The Catamounts made them pay for it utilizing two early and-ones to take an 11-4 lead. By the next TV timeout the Panthers seemed to be getting back into the flow of things leading 16-15. Jamel Artis had much to do with that by attacking the defense relentlessly throughout the half. From there though not much separation was made, Western Carolina kept fighting. At half Pitt led 37-32.
To start the second half it looked like Pitt was finally able to go on their run that would lead to them having a convincing win. That was not the case, after taking 47-39 lead off an Artis three Western Carolina would go on a 12 to three run forcing a Dixon timeout. Things did not get much better from there, as that run ballooned to 22-7. Seven minutes remaining is when the Panthers finally got it together by way of a 7-0 run to tie it at 61. Several back and forth blows by each team saw the score at 66-65 in favor of Western Carolina with only 2:45 left. Chris Jones came up huge in that moment knocking down a three off of a James Robinson assist. The next possession led to three more points, this one the old fashioned way, with Jeter coming in for the slam and foul. Sterling Smith, James Robinson, and Michael Young all converted their free throws down the stretch to seal the win for the Panthers.
Jamel Artis was the star of the game leading the way with 29 points, eight rebounds, and four assists on 10-14 shooting. James Robinson also had a solid effort putting up 11 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. Other players who recorded double figures scoring included Michael Young (12) and Sheldon Jeter (12).
The win puts Pitt at 10-1 on the season and moves them into conference play next week.
Positives:
Jamel Artis-responded in a big way after struggling against Davidson. He regularly found his shot and without his superstar effort the Panthers are looking at an upset loss. Artis continuing to look for his shot and make plays can only benefit the Panthers moving forward.
James Robinson-Looked the part of a veteran senior down the stretch run of this game. He kept calm and delivered the type of stat line that is good to see out of your starting point guard.
Free Throw Shooting- Once again Pitt looks nothing like the team of a year ago with regards to foul shooting. On the evening they were 29-33. That is exceptional and will help them to win tough ACC games in the future.
Late Game Execution- This may only be Western Carolina, but it was a good test for this Pitt team. Blowing everyone out does not show the make of a team, how they perform under the pressure of when they are not playing their best is crucial. The Panthers proved they could fight through adversity.
Negatives:
Three-point Shooting- Just a dreadful day from deep all around. Pitt made just two of their 13 attempts from deep. Perimeter shooting is where basketball is moving toward, so days like this do not look good for Pitt.
Defense- The defense as a whole was not awful, but against an inferior team such as this it was a negative. Pitt lost their man on the perimeter several times leading to points and let them haul in 13 offensive rebounds. Not good as they move into ACC play.
Michael Young- He was not bad, it was more like he was not present. In 31 minutes of play he only attempted six shots. He had 12 points, but he is the star who cannot afford to play passive in a close game like this was. Pitt needs him to take over in situations like this from now on.
Focus- It was clear the Panthers did not come into this game ready to play. Western Carolina was 4-7 and the Pitt players thought it was going to be another easy win. A slip up against a team like that could have done serious damage to the tournament resume and that is a big negative.
Offensive Grade: B-
Their percentages from the field and at the line were solid, 50 and 87.9 percent respectively. However, the problem on offense was that their three point shooting was abysmally bad it hurts the grade. As well, with an eight point lead early in the second half Pitt took their foot off the pedal and the offense failed to put anything together consistently. And Finally, Michael Young was barely involved and that just cannot happen. He was never in foul trouble, he simply disappeared from the offense.
Defensive Grade: C
Western Carolina did not exactly light the Panthers up with offensive numbers, but the defensive intensity that is the staple of Jamie Dixon coached teams was absent. They seemed to be sleep walking through much of the game and it hurt them. When their offense took that eight point advantage the defense also went into cruise control, which saw them trail by seven as a result. Lazy defense like what was seen on Tuesday can kill a team’s chance to win.
Coaching Grade: C
Another slow start for this Pitt team falls squarely on the shoulders of the coach. He did not have this team prepared to play and it showed with them playing without a sense of urgency until late in the game. However, Dixon did not let his team give up and they did execute their offense down the stretch run of the game and that deserves some credit. When you play a weak out of conference schedule such as this you cannot afford a bad loss like this, so Dixon needs to have his team prepared for every team.
Up next:
On Wednesday December 30th at 9:00 P.M. Pitt gets their first taste of ACC action on the year, as they take on bitter rival 9-3 Syracuse Orange at the Peterson Events Center.