Two exhibitions provided coach Jeff Capel’s retooled Pitt basketball roster a few tune-ups during the preseason, but Monday at Petersen Events Center, it was time to play a game that counted.

Youngstown State of the Horizon League, having been selected to finish fourth in the conference, was Pitt’s season-opening foe.

The Penguins led early and came within four at the midway point of the second half, but the Panthers rode a double-double by Cam Corhen to a 74-59 win.

Corhen was 8 of 12 from the floor, pacing both teams with 23 points and 12 boards.

“It’s great to get a win in our first game,” Capel said. “That’s a really good team that we beat, a team that’s going to have a chance to win their league. … I thought we settled into the game defensively, made things difficult for them and that got us going a little bit offensively.”

Behind Corhen, Brandin Cummings was next with 18 points, and Nojus Indrusaitis came off the bench and contributed 13.

As a team, Pitt (1-0) shot 23 of 53 from the floor (43.4%) while dominating on the glass, outrebounding Youngstown State, 46-24.

The first basket of the season for Pitt went to Cummings, who drained a 3 from atop the key, cutting into an early YSU lead to make it 7-3 about three minutes into the game.

Continuing a trend from both their preseason exhibitions, the Panthers trailed early, as Youngstown State went up 14-6 on an Imanuel Zorgvol alley-oop with 14:31 remaining before halftime.

A 3-pointer from Indrusaitis and second-chance layup by Papa Amadou Kante made it 17-13 Penguins a bit over two minutes later.

At the 8:16 mark, it was a 19-19 tie, courtesy of a Corhen finish in the paint.

Corhen also was fouled on the attempt and made his free throw, giving the Panthers their first lead of the night, 20-19.

“We have to play harder to start the game,” Capel said. “ … That was something we talked about for this game, with the fact that we have not gotten off to good starts in two exhibition games. We didn’t do it today, so that’s something we have to continue to look at.”

Pitt would end the first half on a strong note, as two free throws and a step-back jumper from Damarco Minor capped a 14-3 run over the final five minutes and sent the Panthers to the locker room ahead 34-28.

The second half began slowly offensively for both teams, with a reverse layup by Cummings putting Pitt ahead 39-33 at the 16:19 mark.

While they weren’t shooting lights-out themselves, the Panthers still crafted a bit of breathing room, as two layups from Roman Siulepa helped put them in front 45-36 with about 14 minutes to play.

About 90 seconds later, back-to-back 3-pointers from Indrusaitis and Cummings gave Pitt its first double-digit lead of the night, 51-41.

The one thing Youngstown State seemed able to do to stay in the hunt was hit 3-pointers, as Jason Nelson made two of his own, but another basket from downtown by Indrusaitis led the teams into the final under-12 media timeout with Pitt up 54-45.

On the night, the Penguins made 10 of 33 (33.3%) shots from beyond the arc.

“We knew that they were going to come out and shoot a lot of 3s,” Cummings said. “I think, overall, we did a solid job. Obviously, we got some things to clean up.”

The Penguins threatened at about the midway point of the second half, manufacturing some momentum behind a 3-pointer by Rontavious Blackshear and a second-chance layup from Cris Carroll.

With 9:48 to play, Pitt’s lead was trimmed to 54-50.

After a pair of Indrusaitis free throws made it 56-50, Capel initiated the Panthers’ first coach’s challenge of the season, with the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel having approved the measure for this year over the summer.

Officials had ruled a possession in favor of YSU after Cummings and Zorgvol got tangled up going for a loose ball following a Penguins inbound.

But Capel’s challenge was successful, and, moments later, Minor drilled a 3-pointer, followed by an emphatic dunk by Indrusaitis on the fast break.

The sequences put Pitt up 60-50 with eight minutes to go.

Youngstown State inched a bit closer, but coach Ethan Faulkner was called for a technical foul after giving officials an earful when Nelson was not granted a foul after a layup.

Minor hit the resulting free throws, and Corhen added two more to put Pitt in front 66-55 with 5:45 left.

In addition to points and boards, Corhen led all participants with 35 minutes of playing time.

“I feel like I’m in way better shape than last year,” Corhen said. “I don’t think I could have played those 35 minutes and finish the game like I did.”

From there, the Panthers closed out the game in commanding fashion, allowing only four more points to the Penguins.

Kante nabbed 10 rebounds off the bench for Pitt, and Minor had eight points and six rebounds. Siulepa scored four with six boards.

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