In what could be a small glimpse of things to come, Pitt freshman J.J. Moore, led the basketball team to its second straight win on its Ireland tour. The Panthers defeated the South Regional All-Stars 92-52 with Moore scoring a team-high 14 points. Minutes were again spread out and everyone saw playing time. Talib Zanna had his second consecutive strong game, going 5-5 from the field, scoring 10 points, and grabbing 11 rebounds. Gilbert Brown also added 10 points.
Pitt was able to cut its turnovers down a bit from the opening contest, commiting only 12. The team again shot well at 49% from the field and 45% from three-point range.
Ireland tried to play from the outside, hoisting 27 three-point shots, likely because their tallest player was 6’6". Unfortunately, they only connected on nine, and that contributed to Pitt’s astounding rebound total of 61 for the game (Zanna – 11, Dante Taylor – 7, Nasir Robinson – 8, Gary McGhee – 7, J.J. Richardson – 8) – more than double Ireland’s 30.
Of partial note for Pitt fans was that Dante Taylor started at center. That shouldn’t be taken that he will be the starter this year, however. Lamar Patterson also started and Ashton Gibbs did not – neither of which will be likely during the season. But I do think that Taylor playing at center means there’s a chance he’ll be there again during regular season. He could also find time at power forward, but it appears that he’ll be at the five once again this year.
Here’s the box score from today’s game.
Next up is a reception on Monday with Steelers owner and the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney. The Panthers will be back in action on Tuesday when they again play the Irish National Team.