TAMPA, Fla. -- Pitt got into early foul trouble again last night when DeJuan Blair and Sam Young each picked up two first-half fouls and had to sit for the majority of the first half. In almost any other Big East game, that would have put the Panthers in a precarious situation.

But against South Florida, it only delayed the inevitable. Young and Blair had big second halves to lead No. 20 Pitt (13-2, 1-1) past South Florida, 79-66, last night at the Sun Dome.

Young scored 16 of his 22 points after halftime and Blair finished with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Panthers, who split their two-game road trip to open Big East play.

Foul trouble has been a continuing problem for Pitt since the rotation has been decimated by injuries. But in this game, with some inspired play from the reserves, the Panthers were able to grab a lead instead of playing from behind.

"That's tough on me when I have to go out of the game," Young said. "You don't know how your team is going to respond. When I have to go out of a game, I feel like I let my team down. But the guys were able to keep their composure and I came back in the second half."

Young was 9 for 13 from the field, leading an efficient offensive performance. The Panthers shot 53.4 percent (31 for 58) from the field and were 8 for 16 from 3-point range.

Senior Keith Benjamin continued his tremendous play.

Taking on more minutes in the wake of the injuries to guards Levance Fields and Mike Cook, Benjamin tied his career-high with 20 points. Since becoming a starter earlier this month, Benjamin is averaging 18.3 points per game and has made 21 of 30 field goal attempts. He was 8 for 12 from the field last night.

"All along we were saying that Keith deserved more minutes even when Mike and Levance were healthy," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "He's playing really well. His shot selection is the most important thing. He's shooting good shots, and when you're shooting good shots, you get into a rhythm."

Dixon got a big lift from the bench, including a surprising performance from freshman center Gary McGhee, who hadn't played since Pitt's 80-53 win Nov. 27 against Boston University. McGhee scored six points and pulled down four rebounds in 12 minutes.

McGhee's strong play was important because of the foul trouble. He played all 12 of his minutes in the first half, when Blair and Young had to sit for 15 and 12 minutes.

It was McGhee who helped break open a close game. The score was tied, 15-15, when McGhee scored four of his points in a 7-2 run that gave Pitt a 22-17 lead.

"The coaches are always telling me to be ready," McGhee said. "Tonight was my night."

The Panthers never surrendered the lead after that.

The fact that McGhee was a big part of the victory was shocking to the Bulls. He had three total points entering the game.

"McGhee didn't even make the scouting report, but he did a heck of a job for Pitt tonight," South Florida coach Stan Heath said.

The reserves not only held it together, but they helped the Panthers take a 40-33 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Young took the game over. Pitt held a 57-52 lead with 12:27 remaining, but Young scored 10 points in a 19-6 Pitt run that gave the Panthers a commanding 75-58 lead with 3:32 remaining.

The big sequence came when Young made a 3-pointer from the corner and Blair converted a three-point play 39 seconds apart that boosted the lead to 13 with 7:04 to go.

"That was a set play for Sam that we ran for him," Dixon said. "The other was just DeJuan being DeJuan."

Center Kentrell Gransberry led South Florida with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but he only scored four points over the final 10 minutes of the game.