Cam Wright has a big defensive second half as Pitt beats Detroit

A few days late after a busy weekend that saw Pitt clinch another bowl berth, but bear with us.

That comeback was thanks in no small part to the defensive heroics of Cam Wright:

"Cam Wright stepped up big-time in the second half and contained him," said freshman point guard James Robinson, who guarded McCallum in the first half. "He really did a great job on him. Cam was playing better defense than I was tonight, so that's what we went with."

McCallum was 5 for 6 from the field in the first half and only 2 for 7 in the second half.

"Their plan was they wanted to give him special attention," Detroit coach Ray McCallum Sr. said. "Pitt is such a great help defense team. It kind of wore him down."

Wright gets a raw deal from fans at times because he's... eh, offensively challenged at times. But Wright was clearly the difference in the second half and limiting McCallum allowed the Panthers to claw back in it.

Lamar Patterson and James Robinson did their part offensively, both scoring nine points in the second half. JJ Moore had 7-and-5.

Pitt's scoring was once again led by - you guessed it - Talib Zanna who scored 16 points going 10-for-11 from the foul line. He added five rebounds and a block to his stat line.

As regular as Zanna is the star of the show, Adams is just as often the disappointment. The much hyped freshman played just 12 minutes and scored only two points to pair with his three rebounds. It's way, way, way, way too early to be disappointed in Adams, but we are inching closer to not worrying about him leaving after a year for the NBA.

What is concerning is that he paired with Dante Taylor for a grand total of two points and four rebounds in 25 minutes of game play. Pitt has been getting very little production from the center position and it seems as if Taylor is at his ceiling and Adams is at least a year away. Unless someone takes a big step forward this month, Pitt is going to be in for a rude awaking against Big East caliber centers.

Pitt also struggled against Detroit's zone, but that's what happens with an inexperienced starting lineup. I'm not particularly worried, although it would be nice to have Nasir Robinson back to put up 20-and-10 in the zone.

Pitt will play the 4-3 Duquesne Dukes Wednesday night at Consol Energy Center.

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