It wasn’t a blowout, but the favored Pitt Panthers beat the Duquesne Dukes in the annual City Game, 80-69.
Ashton Gibbs led the Panthers with 18 points, but the real story from Pitt’s vantage point may have been the performance of junior Dante Taylor. Returning from a two-game absence with migranes, Taylor had one of his best games in his collegiate career with 15 points and ten rebounds, going a perfect 6-6 from the field. After playing well in place of Taylor, freshman Khem Birch got the start. But he was largely ineffective, scoring only two points and tallying five rebounds.
Unlike Taylor, Lamar Patterson reclaimed his starting spot after a two-game suspension. He made an immediate impact, scoring ten points.
Duquesne shot well from the field, hitting more than 53% of their shots and two of their premier players, Sean Johnson and T.J. McConnell didn’t disappoint, scoring a combined 34 points. They also did what they needed to do, forcing Pitt into an astounding 23 turnovers (four of the Panthers’ starters had at least four). But the Dukes were decimated on the boards as the early unofficial rebounding total was 34-14 in favor of Pitt.