Box Score PITTSBURGH, Pa.- The Savannah State men's basketball team opened their 2013-14 season with a 88-55 loss to Pitt before a crowd of 9,235 in the Peterson Events Center.
 
The Panthers scored the first four points of the contest but Terel Hall nailed a jumper for the Tigers at the 18:09 mark to put SSU on the scoreboard.
 
Pitt answered with a 15-0 run to go ahead 19-2.
 
A 3-pointer by Keierre Richards cut SSU's deficit to 22-7 with 10:22 left but Pitt finished the half with a 18-6 run to take a 40-13 edge into intermission. 
 
"We came out slow, sluggish and nervous. I think in the second half we got it going a little bit. We've got a lot of young guys, and our objective is to be successful in our conference. I think we got some things accomplished, but overall, Pittsburgh is pretty good, physical and strong," said SSU head coach Horace Broadnax.
 
Pitt shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the first half while Savannah State only made 4 of 23 shots (17.4 percent).
 
SSU started the second period with a 10-4 spurt to slice their deficit to 44-23 with 15:17 remaining.
 
A 8-2 mini-run by the Panthers (1-0) extended their lead to 27 with 12:49 left.
 
Leading 65-41, Pitt used a 18-5 run to get their biggest lead of the game at 84-46 with 3:01 remaining.
 
SSU out-scored the Panthers 9-4 the rest of the way down the stretch.
 
The Tigers ended the game shooting 31.3 percent from the field and were out-rebounded 47 to 28.
 
Leading the way for SSU (0-1) were freshmen Alante Fenner and Jeremiah Hill. Fenner had 11 points off the bench while Hill scored 10. Jyles Smith had 8 points and 6 rebounds.
 
Pitt had six players in double figures and were led by James Robinson who had 13 points.