As expected, Pitt expanded upon its 18-point halftime lead and won going away, 82-58. The score actually could have been more lopsided, but Penn scored nine late points on Pitt’s reserves at the end of the game.
The Panthers started off a little slow, leading only 21-18 with about five minutes in the first half. But they didn’t make that mistake in the second half and put Penn away in fairly short order, going up by 30.
Ashton Gibbs led the way in scoring for Pitt with 12 points. But the real story may have been Pitt’s bench. On a night when starting center Gary McGhee didn’t play much, Panther reserves picked up the slack, led by Dante Taylor’s 11 points and four rebounds. The Pitt bench had a whopping 46 points and really showed off why the Panthers are one of the deepest teams in the country.
It’s not immediately known why McGhee played so little, but Pitt didn’t need him on this night.
Penn’s best player, forward Jack Eggleston, didn’t disappoint. He had 16 points and seven rebounds and really looked like a player that could contribute for a lot of good D-I programs.
The Panthers now get several days off with the City Game against Duquesne next up on Wednesday.
For more post-game analysis, check out Pitt blog Cardiac Hill.