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Ramon gets his shot back in Pitt victory
PITTSBURGH - Ronald Ramon came to Pitt four years ago with the reputation of a sure-shot three-point specialist. He did little during his first three years to tarnish the image.
As a junior, Ramon connected on more than 45 percent of his three-point attempts. Few basketball players make more perimeter shots than Ramon.
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Ramon hit his first three against the Terriers and made all five he took as No. 14 Pitt defeated Boston University, 80-53, in front of 9,433.
"It feels great. I know my teammates have confidence in me," Ramon said. "They know I'm going to put the time in to get my shot back."
Ramon's sharpshooting and team-high 15 points paced a solid perimeter attack against the zone defenses employed by the Terriers. Pitt (6-0) made 10 three-pointers, the most since hitting 12 in the second game, on 22 attempts.
For Ramon, the five three-pointers are the most for him in a game since Pitt beat Western Michigan in the 2006-07 season opener.
"Not that we had any concerns about Ronald but 5-for-5 was good to see," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "I think it answers any questions."
Ramon entered the year bothered by a right ankle injury.
"My ankle is fine. I'm getting my confidence level back," Ramon said. "I'm good now. As long as I'm on the court, I'm 100 percent."
Boston University (1-5) was anything but 100 percent.
The Terriers came to Pittsburgh without their top two players - starting guards Tyler Morris and Corey Lowe. Morris is out indefinitely with an ankle injury and Lowe did not make the trip for personal reasons.
"We were fortunate to catch this team obviously undermanned. This was a team that was picked to win their conference," Dixon said. "Boston U has always been well-coached and always been a very good program. Without your two guards, coming off the road trip that they've been on, we did catch them at the right time."
After a slow start for both teams, Pitt raced to a double-digit lead with its perimeter shooting. A Keith Benjamin three gave the Panthers a 19-4 lead.
Pitt mostly settled for jump shots during the first half and took a commanding 42-19 lead at halftime. The Panthers made 5 of 8 from three and a healthy 15 of 26 during the first half.
"I had the thought that they were somewhat taking it easy on us," Boston coach Dennis Wolff said. "They were substituting very liberally. I thought we played pretty hard against one of the best teams in the country. I'm not an expert on the BIg East but that is a team that's going to win a lot of games."
Particularly with similar guard play from Ramon and Levance Fields, who has a 33 to six turnover ratio on the year after his 11-point, eight-assist, one-turnover performance.
"I know we're getting better," Fields said. "It's not easy out there even though the competition isn't the best. The thing is we're playing together as a team."
Bits and pieces
Sam Young added 14 points and Mike Cook scored 11 for Pitt. ... Carlos Strong made six three-pointers and netted a game-high 24 points for the Terriers, members of the American East Conference. ... Pitt's next game is Saturday against Toledo at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on Channel CN8.
