As expected, Pitt had little trouble with D-II opponent, St. Joseph's College on Tuesday, cruising to an 84-43 win. As the broadcast team made sure to point out multiple times, this was technically the Panthers' opener after their game with Gonzaga was canceled at halftime due to poor court conditions.
The Panthers started off pretty slowly and despite St. Joseph's not shooting all that well, they were still able to hang around for a little while. Pitt led by 'only' nine before scoring five late points in the first half to take a 14-point lead. From there, the team just got stronger, opening up a 20-point edge only a few minutes into the second half.
Michael Young led the way for Pitt with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Sheldon Jeter also added a double double off the bench (ten points and ten rebounds), and Cameron Johnson also got into double figures with ten points. For the second straight time out, Jamel Artis didn't make much of an impact. He had only one point against Gonzaga and six points on 3-9 shooting on Tuesday. It's not a big deal, of course, but is noteworthy considering he's considered by some to be the best player on the team.
Also of note is that we saw true freshman Damon Wilson get his first action this year. He looked good in limited time, scoring seven points, grabbing six boards, and dishing out two assists in only 11 minutes of play. Charting his development will be interesting this year just because Pitt has so much depth at guard.
Next up for Pitt is Detroit on Friday.
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