Defense key to Pitt’s win over UC Santa Barbara

Pitt won its first basketball game of the season on Wednesday, defeating UC Santa Barbara, 70-62.

The Panthers did some good things in that contest, including shooting over 80% at the free throw line and cutting back on turnovers, which plagued them against Montana. The biggest, however, may have been the defensive effort in the second half.

Head coach Kevin Stallings said as much after the game.

“I thought we responded in the second half and played much better defensively,” Stallings said. He also indicated that a slight adjustment at halftime seemed to help.

“We made one adjustment to an action they were running in the first half that was hurting us. That seemed to stem the tide a little bit.…