Ashton Gibbs was an uncharacteristic 0 for 5 from 3-point range in Pitt's season-opening victory against Wofford Friday night, but he never lost confidence in his shooting stroke. Point guard Travon Woodall maintained belief in his ability to distribute the ball, even though he dished out only three assists in his first game as a starter.

Both expected to play better last night in the second game of the season against Binghamton. But who could have predicted that Pitt's starting backcourt tandem would go from frightful to flawless in the span of four days?

Gibbs notched career highs in points and 3-point field goals, and Woodall set a career-high in assists in Pitt's 71-46 runaway victory at Petersen Events Center.

Gibbs scored made six 3-pointers and scored 22 points while Woodall posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 assists.

After his 0-fer in the opener, Gibbs was 6 for 10 from behind the arc last night.

"I knew it was going to come sooner or later, so I wanted to be patient with it," Gibbs said. "I wanted to be unselfish and take the open shot. I have confidence in myself. If I have an open one, I'm going to be confident enough to make it and keep shooting."

That is exactly what he did in the first half when he almost single-handedly beat the Bearcats on the scoreboard. Gibbs had as many points at halftime as Binghamton (17). He made five of his six 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, including three in a span of 1:45 midway through the half. All five 3-pointers came in a little more than nine minutes.

"Gibbs hadn't been shooting well the past few games, but, man, if I could have transported him to my team, I would have done it right away," Binghamton coach Mark Macon said.

Woodall, meanwhile, was playing a fantastic floor game. After a so-so opener in which he had three assists and two turnovers, Woodall had 13 and 2 against the Bearcats. He also contributed with his shooting, going 2 for 5 from 3-point range.

"When you have players like Ashton knocking down six 3s, it's pretty easy to find open guys like that," Woodall said. "I'm going to credit a lot of my assists to Levance [Fields]. He did a great job of showing me how to be patient and taking what the defense gives me."

Fields, Pitt's point guard the past four seasons, did not get 10 assists in a game until his senior season. Woodall did it in his second start.

"He made the simple pass," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

"Make the simple pass, and that will get you plenty of assists."

Pitt shot 50 percent from the field and had 24 assists and six turnovers. That was a pleasant sight for Dixon after watching his team slog through many fruitless possessions in the first game.

Against Binghamton, the Panthers picked apart a matchup zone and got open shot after open shot. The Panthers were 10 for 23 from 3-point range.

"Last game, we didn't play the way we practiced," Dixon said. "Today, we did. That was a big step for us. The other thing we emphasized was getting other guys shots. We did a great job with that. We had 24 assists on 27 baskets. That is a good example of that. This team has done that in our short time together. That's very encouraging."

Binghamton did not put up much of a fight. The Bearcats came into the game with seven scholarship players after half the team was dismissed over the offseason for a variety of reasons, including one who was arrested for possessing and selling cocaine.

The Panthers took full advantage and raced to a 37-17 halftime lead. When the Panthers scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half, the rout was on.

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NOTES -- Pitt's sophomore power forward, Nasir Robinson, had 7 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists with 0 turnovers.... Dixon was named USA Basketball coach of the year for leading the 19-and-under team to a gold medal this summer.

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