Pitt rolls past Lehigh
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh guard Tray Woodall knows what it’s like to be the focal point of an opponent’s game plan.
Watching Lehigh senior star C.J. McCollum, it didn’t take long for Woodall to figure out the best way to shut down the dangerous Mountain Hawks.
“We knew (McCollum) was the head of the team and we just wanted to eliminate the head of the team from the jump,” Woodall said.
Done and done.
Denying the preseason All-American the ball at every opportunity and forcing him into tough shots, the Panthers kept McCollum in check while pulling away for a 78-53 victory on Tuesday night in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
McCollum finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting but disappeared during a pivotal 21-5 burst by Pitt early in the second half that broke things open.
Woodall had no such issues getting open, scoring 23 points to go with eight assists while Talib Zanna tied a career-high with 20 points as the Panthers (3-0) advanced to play Michigan in the tournament semifinals next week.
“(Woodall) was running the offense, running the defense,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “We really challenged him with that that he needed to be a better defender.”
Even if Woodall left the job of shutting down the prolific McCollum — who poured in 36 points last week against Baylor — to freshman James Robinson, who responded by harassing McCollum into five turnovers.
“I know my team trusted me, they had my back,” Robinson said. “I knew I could just be a little more aggressive now, had four guys ready to help me.”
The Mountain Hawks (1-2) hung tough during the first half but eventually wore down. Lehigh was within 35-32 a minute into the second half when Pitt got serious at both ends of the floor.
Zanna scored seven straight points to get Pitt going while Woodall sandwiched layups around a basket by Steven Adams as Pitt turned a 35-32 lead into a comfortable 56-37 cushion.
“Their depth killed us on the inside,” McCollum said.
Pitt outrebounded Lehigh 38-22, outscored the Mountain Hawks 36-12 in the paint and had 15 second-chance points. Lehigh, which upset Duke in last year’s NCAA tournament, shot just 32 percent (7 of 22) in the second half.
“They capitalized on (the) size advantage that they have,” Lehigh coach Brett Reed said. “Ultimately that size and balance was too much for us to overcome.”
