Dante Taylor, Pitt's first McDonald's All-American in 22 years and the prized recruit of a heralded freshman class, did not start in the Panthers' first exhibition game of the season yesterday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center.

But judging by his performance off the bench, it might be the last time he is not in the starting lineup for the Panthers. Taylor, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound freshman from National Christian Academy, scored a game-high 27 points in a 75-64 victory against Slippery Rock.

Taylor was 9 for 11 from the field and had nine rebounds. Gary McGhee, a 6-10 junior who played sparingly behind DeJuan Blair the past two seasons, got the start ahead of Taylor and finished with nine points and five rebounds.

"He played really well," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said of Taylor. "And he's only going to get better."

Taylor gave the Panthers a spark after they fell behind, 20-13, with 9:43 remaining in the first half. He was grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring easy baskets, stealing the ball for a coast-to-coast dunk and on the receiving end of some nice transition passes from Pitt's guards.

Taylor scored 16 of his 27 points in the first half, including eight in the final three minutes of the half when the Panthers erased a deficit with a 13-2 run that produced a 40-31 halftime advantage.

"He brings a lot of energy," said sophomore forward Nasir Robinson, who was the only other Pitt player in double figures with 11 points. "He came in and grabbed rebounds, ran the floor, blocked shots and scored inside for us."

Dixon played Taylor for 23 minutes compared to McGhee's 15. At the end of the game, when Slippery Rock was hanging around and the final outcome was still in doubt, Taylor, not McGhee, was on the floor.

Taylor rewarded his coach by making 9 of 11 free throws, including three of four in the final two minutes.

"Me sitting on the bench, I was able to see how the game was going," Taylor said. "When coach put me in I knew what the tempo was. I just tried to play hard and do whatever I could do to stay in the game and not come out."

Taylor said being a starter is not his biggest concern.

"It's not important," Taylor said. "The important thing for me is for the team to win and for me to do whatever [is necessary] for our team to win. We all have to play together. We're all good teammates. It's not just me who's going to get us to the tournament. It's the whole team."

Even though Pitt won by a comfortable margin, there were plenty of mistakes for Dixon to harp on over the next few days before the final exhibition game Sunday against Coker College. The Panthers committed 15 turnovers, allowed Slippery Rock to outrebound them by seven in the first half and allowed 15 3-pointers for the game.

Dixon's biggest concern after the game was the decision-making of the guards. Travon Woodall, who got the start at point guard, committed four turnovers. Starting small forward Brad Wanamaker had three.

"Our penetration and decision-making had been good in practice, but we really took a step back today," Dixon said. "That was something we could have done better. Fifteen turnovers aren't a huge number, but it seemed like a lot more. I thought we forced up some shots on our penetration. We played in a crowd too often."

Dixon also was disappointed that his team didn't secure the victory earlier. Pitt had an 18-point lead with 10 minutes remaining, but allowed Slippery Rock to cut the margin to seven with 1:31 remaining.

"We got it up to 18 or 20 and had an opportunity to pull away and just didn't do what we needed to do," he said. "That was what I addressed mostly after the game. The main thing is we'll be a much better team our next exhibition game. We wanted to see where we're at. We need to see where we are at next Sunday. This thing will be all about improvement."

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NOTES -- Dixon held out freshman forward Talib Zanna, who is battling knee and groin injuries. ... Senior guard Jermaine Dixon, who is rehabilitating from foot surgery in September, is still in a walking boot. Jamie Dixon said Jermaine is scheduled to get another X-ray this week at which time he will know more about his rehabilitation schedule.

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