Pitt's size too much for Penn

PITTSBURGH - Pitt used its superior size to dominate on the boards Saturday night as the Panthers routed visiting Penn, 82-58.

"[Pitt] being relentless on offensive boards was really the tale of the story," Penn coach Jerome Allen said.

The No. 5 Panthers, the first Division I team to get to 7-0, outrebounded Penn, 35-20.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon split time among his entire squad, as 11 of his 13 players saw double-digit minutes. And for the second time this season, the Panthers' bench outscored the starters, 46-36.

The Panthers established a 9-0 lead before Conor Turley scored a layup off the bench for Penn four minutes into the game. Turley entered the game after starter Andreas Schreiber committed two early fouls.

Once the Quakers got on the board, they generated a run of their own and narrowed Pitt's lead to just three at 18-15. Freshman Fran Dougherty and senior Jack Eggleston spurred the run with six combined rebounds.

While Penn had some success rebounding, it didn't last long. The Panthers answered with a 16-0 run to end the first half leading by 36-18.

"I thought we finished out that first half very well. We played very unselfish," Dixon said. "That was a good stretch for us."

At the half, only three Penn players - Eggleston, Dougherty, and Zack Rosen - had grabbed boards, while eight Pitt players had combined for 20.

Although the Quakers held Big East player-of-the-week Ashton Gibbs to just three points in the half, he finished the game with a team-high 12.

The Quakers struggled for rebounds throughout the game, though Allen was quick to not blame the apparent height difference between the two squads.

"At the end of the day . . . it's more about desire to flat-out go and get the ball," he said. "Whether they're 6-9, 6-10, 6-7 across the board, we still have to go and get the rebound."

Pitt's starting frontcourt stood at 6-foot-11, 6-9, and 6-6; while Penn's frontcourt was 6-9, 6-8, and 6-6.

Penn came out strong in the second half, as Miles Cartwright and Dougherty replaced Tyler Bernardini - who shot 0 of 7 with zero rebounds and zero assists - and Schreiber - who was in foul trouble. While Cartwright finished with 22 points, he and the Quakers could only cut Pitt's lead to 14 at 42-28.

The Panthers coupled dominating rebounds with 58.6 percent field-goal shooting to seal the win, their 52d straight at home against nonconference opponents.

Senior Gilbert Brown led the Panthers with seven rebounds, while senior Brad Wanamaker, a Philadelphia native and graduate of Roman Catholic High School, added six.

Eggleston led the Quakers with seven rebounds, and scored 16 points.