Pitt's exhibition game against California (Pa.) wasn't quite the wash that the Panthers' thumping of Carnegie Mellon was on Wednesday, but Pitt was never really in trouble on Saturday night either, beating the Vulcans 80-65.

While the Panthers never drew more than a 15-point lead in the game, Cal. never got closer than seven after the first five and a half minutes of the game.

"There was a time early where I thought we could have pulled away," Jamie Dixon said, "but they're an experienced team so it was not a surprise.

"We need to be a little more patient defensively, but that's to be expected at this point of the year."

The Panthers did excel in the game with their passing, and area of improvement from Wednesday's exhibition. Against CMU, Pitt had 23 assists on 38 baskets; on Saturday night, the Panthers recorded 24 assists on 29 made shots.

On top of that, Pitt's four guards, Ronald Ramon, Levance Fields, Antonio Graves, and Keith Benjamin registered 19 assists and just four turnovers in the game. In all, Pitt complemented the 24 team assists with 14 turnovers.

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