Pitt's basketball season got off on the right foot on Friday night as they defeated Mount St. Mary's 80-48 at the Pete.
The Mountaineers kept things interesting for the first few minutes as the team bombed six straight three-pointers and led 18-17 before a Pitt timeout. But after a 9-0 Panthers' run, that was as close as things would get again. Pitt simply dominated the rest of the way and Mount St. Mary's had no answer for their depth.
The difference in the game was clearly the shooting. Pitt connected on just over 70% of their shots, while Mount St. Mary's hovered around 35%. The Panther bench also helped lead the team with 32 points to the Mountaineers' three.
Individually, it was all about Talib Zanna. The junior got easy bucket after easy bucket, finishing with a career-high 20 points on 10-12 shooting. His counterpart, forward Lamar Patterson didn't fare nearly as well, though. Expected to be a big contributor on offense this year, Patterson went scoreless, attempting only two shots. That's not really cause for alarm, though. The team had plenty of offense from other sources and he was content to let others carry the load.
Also of note were the strong games by the two starting freshmen, Steven Adams and James Robinson. Adams was a force in the middle with eight points and eight rebounds to go along with four blocks. Robinson chipped in with six points and four rebounds - all in the first half. Both showed they were worthy of starting and as the season goes on, they should only improve.
Next up for Pitt is a home game with Fordham on Monday night.