Robert Morris invited Pitt to the grand opening of the UPMC Events Center on Tuesday night, but the Panthers were the masters of ceremonies in the second half, as a strong final 20 minutes propelled Pitt past its western Pa. foes for a 71-57 victory.

The Panthers were led by sophomore guard Trey McGowens, who had his strongest performance of the young season as he scored 25 points, and junior center Terrell Brown, who stuffed the stat sheet in the post with eight points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

The first half on Tuesday night was all about runs. Pitt took a 7-0 advantage into the first media timeout; then Robert Morris responded with an 18-0 run of its own; but the Panthers answered right back with a 10-0 run.

The highlight of the half was McGowens, as the sophomore guard who came into Tuesday night averaging 10 points per game put up that many in the first 20 minutes, shooting a strong 4-of-5 from the floor. He was complemented by Brown, who made his first start of the season and responded with six points, five rebounds and four blocks in the first half.

But turnovers continued to be an issue for the Panthers. After committing 34 in the first two games, Pitt had eight in the first half against RMU and the Colonials turned those errors into 12 points.

Pitt had a 19-15 rebounding edge in the first half, though, and the Panthers picked up where they left off when the second half started. More specifically, McGowens picked up where he left off, opening the second half with a running lay-up to break the tie and then extending Pitt’s lead with four consecutive free throws.

From there, Pitt controlled the game. RMU hit consecutive field goals just twice in the second half as the Panthers, led by McGowens and Brown, continued to pour it on. The two starters combined for 33 of Pitt’s 71 points and 17 of the team’s 39 rebounds, and both players fell just short of their first career double-doubles.

Pitt also got double-figure scoring performances from Au'Diese Toney (11 points), Ryan Murphy (10 points) and Justin Champganie (10 points), and sophomore guard Xavier Johnson had seven points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The game represented a nice bounce-back for Pitt, who lost on Saturday to Nicholls State in a game that head coach Jeff Capel hoped would be a wake-up call for his team. It was also the Panthers’ first win in a true road game since defeating Boston College on Feb. 8, 2017.

Pitt is now 2-1 on the season and will host West Virginia on Friday night for the hoops edition of the Backyard Brawl.