65 - 56 
It wasn't pretty but a win is a win as the Panthers improve to 7-3 on the season.
While it is a tough thing to do, taking each game one at a time might be the best approach with this Pitt basketball team. This game, the Panthers defeated the Manhattan Jaspers 65-56 in what certainly was not a pretty win, but a win nonetheless.
While Manhattan is now 2-7 and not going to make too much noise in the MAAC, they are a program that has been on the rise recently and given how Pitt has looked thus far this season, no game is an easy-win.
The Panthers seemed to heat up as the game went on and finally experienced some senior leadership from Cameron Wright who finally seems to be getting into the groove of things. Wright contributed 14 points in 34 minutes on the court.
Wright, who missed the first eight games of the season with a foot injury seems to be shaking off that rust and contributing just as the Panthers had hoped that he would. With the Panthers being such a young team, you really cannot put a price on the value of the leadership that Wright provides.
The Panthers were also led by sophomore forwards Mike Young who scored 16 points with eight rebounds and Jamel Artis who contributed 20 points with 8 rebounds.
Young in particular shot the ball well, shooting a perfect 6-6 from the field and really helped pace the offense all evening. While this is not a surprise, it is a welcomed sight to see Young play like this on a more consistent basis.
Pitt was spared with how poorly Manhattan played all evening. The Jaspers surrendered 20 turnovers which led to 23 Pitt points. While some of the turnovers were forced by Pitt’s defense a large percentage of them came from all around sloppy play. They cannot rely on their opponents to make so many mistakes throughout the season, it’s just not going to happen.
The Panthers also continue to distribute the ball pretty unselfishly, 20 of the team’s 23 baskets were assisted.
The Panthers are now 7-3 with three more winnable games on their current home stand. While the traditional assumption is that Pitt will sit at 10-3 heading into the ACC, it is important to take these games one at a time.
Next up is Oakland with a 4:00 pm scheduled tip on Saturday.
