Xavier Johnson sets pace for Pitt in 1st victory against Drexel

Pitt point guard Xavier Johnson took the season-opening loss to St. Francis (Pa.) to heart, so he heeded Panthers coach Jeff Capel’s advice to concentrate on setting the tempo and taking care of the ball.

With Johnson in control, Pitt never trailed Drexel. And when the game got too close for comfort in the second half, the 6-foot-3 junior came through with pivotal plays to lead the Panthers to an 83-74 victory Saturday afternoon at Petersen Events Center.

“That was the main ponit of emphasis coming into the game,” Johnson said, with a laugh. “Coach told me to take care of the ball, and I told myself to slow down.”

Johnson scored a game-high 27 points, with eight assists, six rebounds and, most important, only three turnovers. He had seven turnovers in the 80-70 loss to St. Francis on Wednesday, including six in the first half, and Capel said it caused the Panthers to panic.

“I thought he valued the basketball a little bit more, slowed down and played at a better pace,” Capel said of Johnson, who made 9 of 13 field goals, including three 3s. “He was really locked in on both sides of the ball. That was key. I thought he made really good decisions.”

Where Johnson was the catalyst, the Panthers also got strong performances from junior Au’Diese Toney (20 points) and sophomore Justin Champagnie (19 points), as the trio combined for 35 first-half points as Pitt took a 44-34 halftime lead and 80% of Pitt’s scoring total.

Champagnie scored Pitt’s first seven points, starting with a three-point play, by going left to the glass on successive possessions. Johnson made back-to-back 3-pointers that put the Panthers up 37-22 at 5 minutes, 32 seconds of the first half. After Drexel had cut Pitt’s lead to five in the second half, Johnson hit another big 3 for a 67-59 lead with 7:09 remaining.

Although Pitt (1-1) shot 62% (31 of 50) from the field, the emphasis in practice Friday was on defense and rebounding. It might not have shown up in the statistics — as Drexel shot 48.4% (30 of 62) from the field and had a 29-26 rebounding edge — but Capel saw improved energy from the Panthers.

Capel was particularly pleased with the play of sophomore forwards Abdoul Karim Coulibaly, who got his first career start, and Gerald Drumgoole.

With Drexel running plays through senior forward James Butler, Coulibaly was tasked with contesting entries inside and fighting through ball screens. Butler finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, none offensively, as the Dragons (0-1) were led by Camren Wynter’s 24 points and D.J. Bickerstaff’s 19.

“I thought it was huge for us,” Capel said of Coulibaly’s defense. “For us to hold Butler without an offensive rebound was huge. That was a point of emhphasis. He averaged four a game last season.”

The Panthers led by as many as 16 in the second half before Drexel rallied to cut it to 64-59 on a Wynter alley oop to Bickerstaff with 7:30 left. Johnson and Champagnie answered with 3-pointers, and Champagnie added a baseline floater before shooting an airball that Toney rebounded and scored on for a 74-63 lead.

“It feels good to win. It feels good to get our first win of the season,” Capel said. “I thought our guys really bounced back over the past couple of days. … Our veterans did a big-time job of stepping up and setting the table for us. I’m proud of the win. We have a long way to go, a lot of work to do, but it feels a lot better than it did the other night.”