Panthers Shred on the Boards, Surf Past Silverswords
By: Joe Rokicki
The Pitt Panthers Mens Basketball team looked for a rebound victory in their second game of the 2014 EA Sports Maui Invitational against the Chaminade Silverswords on Tuesday night.
After a tough loss to the University of Hawaii Friday night, the Panthers rebounded in their second game of the Maui Invitational and defeated the Chaminade Silverswords 81-68 Tuesday night.
Sophomore forward Michael Young led the Panthers with 27 points, shooting 11-17 from the field. Young also collected 15 rebounds in the game thus earning him a double-double. Junior guard James Robinson scored 15 points and 5 assists in the Panthers victory.
The Panthers dominated the glass as they outrebounded the Silverswords 51-17. Senior forward Derrick Randall snagged a tournament record 21 rebounds in addition to his 11 points from the bench, giving him a double-double as well as single handedly out rebounding the Silverswords. Sophomore guard Josh Newkirk also provided a spark off the bench earning 8 assists and 10 points. As a team, the Panthers shot 16-23 from the free throw line and 7-17 beyond the arc. However, the Panthers also committed 15 turnovers in an otherwise exceptional performance.
Chaminade converted 51 percent of their attempts from the field including 11-27 from three point range. Despite the offensive success from the perimeter, the Silverswords couldn’t answer the Panthers rebounding presence in the paint. Kuany Kuany and Kevin Hu led the Silverswords in scoring with 12 points each.
The victorious Panthers improved their record to 3-1 on the season and will play the winner of the #15 San Diego State vs. BYU contest which tipped off at 11:30 pm ET Tuesday night.
