Pittsburgh holds off Samford 63-56
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The calling card of the Pittsburgh Panthers is superiority on the boards. Rebounding is the first thing head coach Jamie Dixon will usually cite when breaking down a game, regardless of outcome.
So it's no surprise that, as the Samford Bulldogs out-rebounded the Panthers, Pitt was almost upset by its opponent chosen to finish last in the Southern Conference before the season began.
Facing a five-point deficit nearly 13 minutes into the game, Pitt sparked up an 18-5 run that propelled the Panthers to a 63-56 victory.
"We don't win very often when we get out-rebounded so that's why we're not as good as we should've been," Dixon said.
Even Samford head coach Scott Padgett was surprised by the way things unfolded in the rebounding column.
"If you told me we were going to out-rebound them this game, I would've bet any amount of money you wanted that they would've beat us by 15 on the boards," Padgett said.
Samford's competition surprised the Panthers after the Bulldogs were blown out by 40 points Friday night at Purdue. After that game, Padgett told his team it needed a "phenomenal effort" to even have a shot at winning.
"That's the hardest I've seen us play," Padgett said. "And we needed it."
Pitt wasn't supposed to face a real test for another nine days, when the Panthers head to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational and could face teams including Arizona, BYU and San Diego State.
"We didn't play as well as we wanted to play," forward Michael Young said. "We got the win and that was all that matters."
The Panthers couldn't pull away and never led by more than nine points. Tyler Hood kept Samford in the game with 21 points and made six 3-pointers while capitalizing on soft spots in Pitt's 2-3 zone.
Samford (0-2), chosen to finish last in the Southern Conference, hung with the Panthers (2-0) and outscored Pitt in the second half by a 33-32 margin.
Pitt defeated Niagara by 33 Friday night but was unable to take control of the game. Samford led 18-13 with 7:17 left to play, the largest lead the Bulldogs would have.
But the Panthers outscored Samford by 15 to end the half and controlled the game throughout the second. Hood made a 3-pointer early in the second half to pull the Bulldogs within three points but they never got any closer.
Young said the key to the run was the use of zone which helped stifle Samford's offense and open up transition opportunities for Pitt.
"That kind of stopped their flow," Young said. "We got a few stops in a row, got some dunks, got the crowd in it then just made a run."
Young scored 14 of his a career-high 20 points in the second half and made 10 of 13 field goals to go with five rebounds.
He capped his performance with a key block with fewer 10 seconds to play in the game and Pitt clinging to a five point lead.
Jamel Artis added 12 points for Pitt, with 10 coming in the first half.
After handing out 20 assists on 30 made field goals Friday, the Panthers again shared the ball with 20 assists on 24 baskets. James Robinson had eight assists while Josh Newkirk had seven
Michael Bradley scored 10 points for Samford and grabbed eight rebounds. Samford out-rebounded Pitt 33-31.
TIP-INS
PITTSBURGH: Young averaged 22 points a game in the preseason but only had five points in the season opener.
SAMFORD: Hood made 6 of 10 3-point attempts.
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh heads to Hawaii to play the Rainbow Warriors Wednesday.
Samford returns to Alabama for its home-opener against Austin Peay Wednesday.
PIVOTAL MOMENT
Pitt guard James Robinson stole the ball from Evan Taylor and dished to Jamel Artis on the break for a dunk. Artis' score broke a tie with 4:17 left in the first half, giving the Panthers the lead for good.