Panthers Slam Maryland-Eastern Shore, 78-43

PITTSBURGH — Faced with an uninspiring opponent in Maryland-Eastern Shore, the Pitt students on break and the hubbub of the holiday season, it was sure to be a sleepy environment at the Petersen Events Center on Saturday afternoon, and the game lived up to its relative lack of hype, as Pitt coasted to a 78-43 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore.

The Hawks actually started the game with a 5-0 lead, but the Panthers roared back on a 26-3 by the midway point of the first half the eliminated any remaining doubt that the heavily favored Panthers would prevail.

But just because Pitt took home a lazy victory doesn’t mean that the Panthers were unable to get in some important work.

They bounced back from a 1-3 stretch that was followed by a week off for finals with an easy victory that allowed the entire rotation to get into the scoring act.

The Panthers were led by the usual suspects, as Xavier Johnson had 12 points and Jared Wilson-Frame had 11, but Terrell Brown (10), Kene Chukwuka (seven), Khameron Davis (six) and Shamiel Stevenson (six) all exceeded their scoring average.

Wilson-Frame had 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, as the Panthers out-rebounded the undersized Hawks, 51-29, but it was the wings that did most of the heavy lifting. In addition to Wilson-Frame, Au’Diese Toney grabbed seven boards and Malik Ellison snagged three.

The Panthers will finish their pre-ACC tuneup by hosting New Orleans on Dec. 20 and Colgate on Dec. 29.