Pitt
Pitt-Johnstown
Pitt Tops Pitt-Johnstown, 95-65, in Exhibition Play
11/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH --The University of Pittsburgh men's basketball team, led by a starting five that combined for 80 points, defeated Pitt-Johnstown 95-65 in the team's only exhibition game before the start of the 2016-17 regular season. Senior Jamel Artis led the way with 20 points, while redshirt sophomore Cameron Johnson chipped in 18 points, six rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals in the lopsided win.
"I thought the guys overall played really hard and played very unselfishly which was something that I expected," said head coach Kevin Stallings. "I thought our pace was good and our defensive intensity for the most part was good. I though we shared the ball and again I thought the first group was obviously very productive."
All five starters scored in the double figures, while impacting the game in a variety of way. Artis knocked down 6-of-9 three-point field goals including back-to-back triples midway through the second half to break the game open. Johnson scored 13 of his 18 points in the opening half as Pitt jumped out to a 41-25 halftime lead.
"We played pretty good today, especially the starting five" added Artis. "We rebounded well, we shot the ball in rhythm and our defensive intensity was better. We would like to get the bench players more involved in the game but that will come with more experience."
Michael Young tallied 17 points, including 13 in the second half of play, to go along with six rebounds and a game-high eight assists. The 6'9" senior consistently found open shooters in the Pitt offense as the Panthers finished the day with 19 assists on 31 field goals.
Fellow seniors Sheldon Jeter and Chris Jones had good showings as well. Jeter finished with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Jones posted 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Jeter had three highlight reel dunks to spark the Panthers throughout the game.
Pitt-Johnstown trimmed a 16-point halftime deficit to 59-49 on the Jake Laravie three-pointer with 11:21 remaining in the game. Following the media timeout, Stallings brought back his starters to spark a 32-7 run over the next eight minutes of action. Pitt knocked down six of its 13 three-point field goals during that span to put the game away.
The Panthers scored 54 points in the second half of play with Artis and Young combining for 27 points.
Pitt finished the game with a 50-33 edge on the glass and added a 17-7 advantage in fast break points.
UPJ was paced by a strong effort from A.J. Leahy (20 points, seven rebounds), while also receiving double-digit efforts from Jake Laravie (13 points) and Isaac Vescovi (10 points).
Pitt officially opens up their regular season with a home game next Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. against Eastern Michigan in the first game of the 2k Classic Benefiting Wounded Warriors Project.
NOTES
*** Pitt is now 58-5 all-time in exhibition play, including a 2-0 mark against Pitt-Johnstown
*** The Panthers have won 34 consecutive exhibition contests, dating back to a 92-90 loss to Marathon Oil Nov. 10, 1998
*** Jeter's 12 rebounds are the most by a Pitt player in exhibition play since Aaron Gray had 15 boards in a win over Carnegie Mellon Nov. 1, 2006
