Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Despite getting flipped over in a tangle of arms and legs, Levon Kendall manages to keep his eye on the ball last night in the Panthers' final exhibition game. Click photo for larger image.

Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon might have learned one thing about his team last night. The Panthers are better than Maryland anyway.

Pitt turned back Division II California, Pa., 80-65, in an exhibition game in front of 7,822 at the Petersen Center, beating the Vulcans far more comfortably -- at least judging from the final score -- than Maryland had three nights earlier.

Maryland edged California, 79-78, in College Park.

"Compared to Maryland, [Pitt] is so much more physical," California coach Bill Brown said. "The [Atlantic Coast Conference] and the Big East are night and day in terms of being physical.

"At Maryland, we had 13 [3-point field goals]. Tonight, we had seven. That's Pitt. We're a very good shooting team. We'll probably shoot in the 50 [percent] range during the season. Tonight, we shot 35 [percent].

"This is the smallest team I've had. We had no answers for [Aaron] Gray and [Levon] Kendall."

Gray and Kendall combined to shoot 17 of 22 from the field and scored a combined 44 points.

Dixon, as he did against Carnegie Mellon in Pitt's other exhibition, started Gray and Kendall upfront, Mike Cook at small forward, Antonio Graves at shooting guard and Ronald Ramon at the point. Sophomore Sam Young quickly replaced Cook, who picked up his second foul less than 2¹/₂ minutes into the game.

"[Young] gives us another perimeter guy," Dixon said of Young being able to play the No. 3 spot.

Young played 17 minutes and scored four points -- two on a spectacular alley-oop feed from Graves 6¹/₂ minutes into the game.

That got the crowd into the game and provided Pitt with a 14-4 lead. The Vulcans, however, hung around gamely.

"They're a good team," Dixon said. "I thought there was a time early on when we could have pulled away, but it didn't happen. They're a very experienced team and they have good players.

"I was very impressed with them, but not surprised by them."

A 3-pointer by John Owens at the buzzer brought the Vulcans within 39-31 at the half. With Gray sitting out because of foul trouble much of the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Vulcans whittled Pitt's double-digit lead to 59-52 with 9:39 left. California had two possessions in which it could have trimmed the deficit to five or four points but failed.

"Impatience," Brown said. "We had the wrong guys taking shots. I probably should have called time and calmed us down. We took quick shots there when we should have made eight or 10 passes [before shooting]."

A 3-pointer by Levance Fields gave Pitt a 70-56 lead with four minutes left, essentially sealing the deal.

Dixon, whose Panthers open the season Sunday against Western Michigan, wouldn't necessarily commit to a starting lineup of Gray, Kendall, Cook, Graves and Ramon.

"We're trying to find the best combination," Dixon said. "The rotation is the key -- the guys coming off the bench. Not too many teams go the whole year without changing the [starting] lineup."

NOTES -- Freshman Gilbert Brown, who had been slowed by mononucleosis, made his first game appearance. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Harrisburg played only three minutes and did not score. ... Dixon was not happy with Pitt's 21 fouls -- which produced 26 free-throw attempts for California -- but he was happy with Pitt's 24 assists on 29 baskets.