PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon is encouraging his players to take more chances defensively, hoping more hands in the passing lanes at one end of the court equals layups at the other.

Consider the Panthers quick studies.

Talib Zanna scored a career-high 20 points, Tray Woodall added 14 points and six assists and Pitt had little trouble racing past Mount St. Mary’s 80-48 on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

The Panthers turned 16 Mountaineer turnovers into 24 points, one of the big reasons Pitt set a school record for shooting. The Panthers made 71 percent of their shots (34 of 48), most of them at easy baskets at rim.

“We didn’t want to settle for jump shots,” Woodall said. “We knew we could get layups. Once we got them early, we knew we could get them at the end.”

Pitt improved to 10-0 in openers under Dixon, smothering Mount St. Mary’s over the game’s final 30 minutes.

Highly touted freshmen Steven Adams and James Robinson looked right at home in their first collegiate games. Adams had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks while Robinson scored six points and turned it over just once in 29 minutes.

“They both played well, I’m not surprised,” Dixon said. “They’re mature beyond freshmen years and they’re going to keep getting better and better.”

Xavier Owens led the Mountaineers with 15 points and Rashad Whack added 11 but Mount St. Mary’s couldn’t keep up with the bigger, deeper Panthers.

Pitt outscored Mount St. Mary’s 58-14 in the paint and shut the Mountaineers down following a slow start. Mount St. Mary’s hit six 3-pointers in the first eight minutes, taking a brief 18-17 lead and getting Dixon so angry he called timeout.

The Panthers quickly tightened up. After starting 6 of 8 from 3-point range, Mount St. Mary’s finished just 9 of 23 from behind the arc.

“I don’t think we did anything different per se, but we tried to do better,” Dixon said. “I think maybe we were surprised at how quick and how deep they shot it.”