Pitt had little trouble rebounding from its ugly loss to Tennessee a week ago, beating up on Maryland Eastern Shore, 97-64. The 97 points tied a season-high and was the third time the Panthers nearly got to 100.
Leading the way was Gilbert Brown, who had a career-high 28 points. It's not like Gil isn't capable of doing this more often and it makes it a bit frustrating knowing the talent he has.
As I mentioned in the recap over at SB Nation Pittsburgh, when Gil plays like this, Pitt is on another level. There are so many things he can do - spread the floor, get guys like Ashton Gibbs open looks, and get to the basket on his own.
Gary McGhee also had a nice game for Pitt, getting his third double double of the season. But, meanwhile, Brad Wanamaker had one of the worst games of his career, going scoreless. He still managed to contribute a bit, though, notching six assists, three rebounds, a block, and a steal.
Pitt actually allowed Maryland Eastern Shore to hang around a bit, leading only 26-22 with about six minutes left in the first half. But they opened up a 15-point halftime lead, then proceeded to hit 17 of their first 20 second-half shots.
As expected, Maryland Eastern Shore hoisted a ton of threes. They averaged about 15 per game coming in, and tonight took 32 of them. But as their shooting percentage is only 31% from that range, it wasn't a big deal. They shot exactly that percentage tonight and with Pitt outrebounding the Hawks tonight 47-19, that gave them little hope of keeping the game close.
Pitt will take on American University on Wednesday.