The No. 7 Pitt men's basketball team kept its perfect Big East record intact Wednesday night as the Panthers won at DePaul 59-49. Senior center Aaron Gray scored a game-high 18 points for Pitt, who improved to 15-2 overall, 3-0 in the Big East.

Prior to the game, Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon talked about the versatility of the Blue Demons and the number of players on the team who could create shots and opportunities off the dribble. As such, the Panthers seemed focused on closing the penetration lanes and forcing DePaul to stay on the perimeter.

When the Blue Demons were able to get inside, their shots were forced and the tough shots were reflected in the team's poor shooting percentage in the game: DePaul shot 34% from the floor, making 19 of 55 shots. That included the Blue Demons' 6-of-22 mark from three-point range. All of this came from a team that entered the game shooting field goals at a 48% rate.

More to the point, DePaul's struggles were personified by super-scoring senior guard Sammy Mejia. Mejia averaged 16.1 points per game in the Blue Demons' first 16 contests, but he was a non-factor on Wednesday night: after hitting a basket nine minutes into the game, he was held scoreless until the 9:07 mark of the second half. Mejia scored a few times down the stretch, but his final tally of 10 points was among his lower outputs this season.

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