PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh guard Cameron Wright just laughed when asked if the Panthers wait until they’re pushed by an inferior opponent before getting serious.

“I’m not going to say we’re fooling around,” Wright said.

Maybe, but at the moment there are few teams on Pitt’s schedule that can keep up when the Panthers get down to business.

Tray Woodall scored 14 points and tied a season-high with nine assists, and the Panthers pulled away in the second half of an 89-47 win over North Florida on Saturday night.

Dante Taylor led Pitt with 16 points and Talib Zanna added 15 as the Panthers (9-1) used their distinct size advantage and depth to wear the Ospreys down. Lamar Patterson scored 13 points and Wright finished with 10 points off the bench as Pitt won its fifth straight.

“Coach (Jamie) Dixon just came in there and told us it all started off with defense,” senior center Dante Taylor said. “He told us we had to pick it up.”

The Ospreys, giving away height at every position, settled for jumpers, one of the reasons they never made it to the free-throw line all night.

“I told our guys it wasn’t the officials,” North Florida coach Matthew Driscoll said. “You’re not going to get any foul calls unless you’re going to the rim.”

Something the Ospreys gave up doing once Pitt broke it open. North Florida had been competitive in losses to BCS teams Florida State and Kansas State but mustered little resistance when the Panthers clamped down.

Travis Wallace and David Jeune scored 10 points each for the Ospreys (3-6), but North Florida didn’t have enough firepower. The Ospreys scored just 20 points over the game’s final 25 minutes after briefly tying it at 27 in the first half.

“We’ve got to shoot open shots, wherever they are,” Driscoll said. “That’s what we’ve got to do. It’s really disappointing.”

The Panthers shot a season-high 59 percent (33 of 58) from the field and dominated the final 25 minutes. Pitt outrebounded North Florida 35-21, forced 17 turnovers and outscored the Ospreys in the lane 42-18.

“We were much better (in the second half),” Dixon said. “There were some breakdowns that may have not ended up in baskets as we wore them down ... but we need to keep building.”