The game wasn't in doubt from the opening tip as Pitt won their regular season opener against Albany. The starting lineup featured Ashton Gibbs, Nasir Robinson, Lamar Patterson, Tray Woodall, and Dante Taylor.
Woodall had a career game against the Great Danes, recording a double-double while scoring his career high in points with 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting, including hitting 5 of 7 from three-point range. Ashton, of course, got his fair share of points, scoring 21 points on 8 of 17 shooting and 3 of 7 from three-point land. While it wasn't a great shooting night, Gibbs showed he could do some of the little things he didn't do as well last season - mainly driving the ball into the lane. He also did fairly well on the defensive end, something Coach Dixon wanted him to work on, while recording seven assists. As a whole, Pitt shot 54% from the field (34-63), including 59% from three-point range (13-22). The Panthers had trouble getting to the line, only getting there ten times, forcing a meager 11 Albany fouls.
Hard to complain about anything tonight - just an all around a great game for the Panthers. Pitt had 11 players record points and seven of them scored at least five points. They forced 11 turnovers while only turning the ball over seven times themselves. Pitt also had 24 assists, including ten dished out by Woodall. They held the Great Danes to 17% shooting from three-point range. The one problem was the number of free throw attempts for Albany (23). While this is the first game of the season, Pitt can't allow that many trips to the line once they get to Big East play.
Pitt looks to continue their good play when they take on Rider on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. from the Pete. The game can also be found on ESPN3.