Pitt will officially open the 2019-20 season next week when Florida State comes to the Petersen Events Center for a nationally televised conference game. On Wednesday, Pitt had a soft open to the season with an exhibition game against Slippery Rock, a Division-II program and a member of the PSAC conference.
Pitt had little trouble in a commanding 98-47 victory over The Rock. Pitt was able to play 13 different players and five Panthers reached double-digit scoring.
Wednesday also marked an unveiling of sorts for the program as well. The Petersen Events Center debuted it’s new seating alignment with the benches flipped to be positioned in front of the Oakland Zoo. The arena also features some new cosmetic upgrades, including a new scoreboard. Pitt also wore the new script uniforms in the new color for the first time in a game setting.
In a night full of new things, some familiar names rose to the top for the Panthers. Xavier Johnson led Pitt with 17 points and dished out three assists. Trey McGowens added 15 points and had a team-high eight assists and showed poise running the offense when Johnson was on the bench.
Pitt fans also got a look at some of the newcomers to this team. Senior graduate transfer Eric Hamilton and freshman Gerald Drumgoole earned spots in the starting lineup. Hamilton fought off foul trouble and finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds in just 12 minutes of action. Drumgoole displayed a nice shooting touch by connecting on a pair of 3-points, he also got off the floor for some slam dunks. The freshman finished with 13.
Ryan Murphy, a junior college transfer, made his Pitt debut and showed his shooting touch, as he connected on three 3’s as well, including one at the buzzer before halftime to make it 51-21.
Freshman forward Justin Champagnie was thought to have been lost for the season earlier this month, but after finding a second opinion he is back and able to play. He showed some versatility and played well, finishing with eight points.
The rotation inside was something to watch and will continue to be moving forward this season. Pitt tried to work in Hamilon, Terrell Brown, and freshman Abdul Karim Coulibaly. There was also some mixing and matching as it appears Pitt may be able to play two big men at a time this season, a luxury it was not afforded a year ago.
Defensively, Slippery Rock held a significant rebounding edge early in the first half, but Pitt finished 49-38 over The Rock in that department. Pitt also forced 24 turnovers and Slippery Rock was 18-63 from the field, including just 1-18 from behind the arc.
Pitt’s season will get going for real next Wednesday, but tonight the Panthers got to work on some things and play against somebody else for the first time in a while.
