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Panthers' Benjamin sparkles in second half
PITTSBURGH - Keith Benjamin, one of the Big East Conference's hottest scorers since his insertion into Pitt's starting lineup three games ago, needed a little reassurance from teammates at halftime.
Benjamin and the Panthers clung to a 33-30 lead Saturday afternoon against surprisingly pesky Seton Hall at Petersen Events Center but the senior shooting guard just wasn't himself. Normally one to attack the basket, Benjamin lacked his trademark aggressiveness and even passed on several open looks. Through his first 18 minutes, Benjamin scored zero points.
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Pitt made eight of 11 three-point attempts after halftime, including five straight to open the second half. Three of those came from Benjamin and the Panthers' perimeter play, combined with the interior presence of Sam Young and DeJuan Blair, proved too much during an 84-70 victory in front of 12,508.
"I didn't take some shots I probably should have taken," said Benjamin, who scored 12 points and had a career-high six assists. "Sometimes, I can be real hyped and perform well but I should have taken some shots and been more aggressive."
Pitt (14-2, 2-1 Big East) certainly asserted itself after halftime.
Young scored a career-high 28 points and made all four three-pointers. And Blair, who continues to dominate inside, finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, the seventh double-double of his young career.
The pair was too much for the less athletic Seton Hall post players.
"Even though Pitt lost Levance Fields and Mike Cook, they're still an elite team," Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez said. "They're inside people are so skilled. And, I hate to put too much pressure on (Pitt coach) Jamie Dixon, but they look like NBA big guys."
Young and Fields combined to score the first 14 points for Pitt, including a three-pointer from Young to open the scoring and an acrobatic dunk by Blair on a putback.
The pair even worked together a couple times. Blair put Pitt ahead 27-23, thanks to a perfect pass from Young.
"You could see them early on interacting and enjoying playing with each other," Dixon said. "Those two guys, first of all, are great players. They have great hands. They're great rebounders and they can both score."
When Young and Blair weren't dominating inside, Terrell Biggs was. He finished with eight points and 10 rebounds and helped Pitt outrebound Seton Hall (10-6, 0-3) by nine, 45-36.
And when the offense wasn't working inside, Pitt kicked it outside. With the exception of poor free-throw shooting during the closing minutes - Pitt made 11 of 22 over the final 6:58 - and a few mental lapses against Seton Hall's press, the offense worked efficiently and, at times, effortlessly.
"It seems we see the press every game and we have two or three press breaks that worked pretty well," Benjamin said. "As long as we keep handling the ball the way we do, we'll be all right."
And it Pitt keeps shooting the ball the way it did against the Pirates, the Panthers might find a way to remain near the top of the Big East standings.
Benjamin, Young and Ramon all hit three-pointers early in the second half to help Pitt turn its narrow halftime lead into a 63-49 margin following three of Ramon's 14 points. The lead grew as large as 17 before Pitt starting missing free throws.
"(Young and Blair) did a good job of kicking it out," said Benjamin, who is averaging 16.8 points since the injury to Fields. "Those are shots we want to take."
Bits and pieces
Benjamin made five of Pitt's 13 turnovers. ... Ramon finished with eight assists and is averaging 7.0 assists per game since becoming the starting point guard. ... Eugene Harvey led Seton Hall with a game-high 25 points and Brian Laing finished with 17. Laing briefly left the game during the second half after being elbowed in the hip by Young.
