11/12/2011
Woodall, Gibbs lead Pitt to rout in opener
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Travon Woodall scored a career-high 25 points to go with 10 assists and No. 10 Pittsburgh rolled by Albany 89-56 in the season opener on Friday night.

Ashton Gibbs added 21 points for the Panthers, who remained unbeaten in nine season debuts under coach Jamie Dixon.

The defending Big East regular-season champions wasted little time, needing 5 minutes to take a double-digit lead.

Gerardo Suero led Albany with 17 points and Logan Aronhalt added 13 points and five rebounds but the Great Danes were never in it.

Gibbs and Woodall dominated, feeding off each other against Albany's overmatched backcourt. Woodall made 9 of 13 shots, including 5 of 7 3-pointers.

Pitt played without sophomore forward J.J. Moore, suspended for one game for playing in an unsupervised summer league game.

For one game, the Panthers didn't need him, not with Gibbs and Woodall doing their thing.

Gibbs, the preseason Big East player of the year, eagerly fed Woodall the ball when the Great Danes threw two or sometimes three defenders his way.

The senior guard set a career-high with seven assists, though he was pretty good when he put the ball up too. Gibbs scored 15 points in the first half on 6-of-11 shooting as the Panthers took advantage of numerous defensive breakdowns by Albany.

Gibbs hit a jumper to put Pitt up 13-3. The Panthers were off to the races, one of the Big East's most tenacious defensive teams showing it could get out and run too.

Forward Nasir Robinson showed no ill effects from a knee injury that limited him during the preseason, finishing with eight points and three rebounds in 23 effective minutes.

Freshman forward Khem Birch, the sixth McDonald's All-America to play at Pitt, made his debut, missing one shot from the field but making two free throws to go with three rebounds in 17 minutes.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/apsports11/11-12-2011-Pitt-opens-with-win