Semi-rapid reaction: Pitt 76, Morehead State 63

With its most challenging game of the season looming Tuesday, Pitt kind-of-but-didn't-totally handle business Friday night in a 76-63 win against Morehead State that allowed me to turn to a Thanksgiving-themed lede.

On to more important matters...

Turning point: From a game flow standpoint, it was sort of a blowout. Pitt never trailed and raced out to a 15-5 lead. The closest thing to uncertainty came in the second half, when the Eagles clawed back within seven with 6:57 remaining. Pitt, to its credit, quickly regrouped, getting one free throw each from Chris Jones and Jamel Artis, and a 3-pointer from Cam Johnson to get its lead back up to 12 within 71 seconds.

Game ball: Mike Young. The man continues to get buckets at a mesmerizing frequency and the game is, and always will be, about getting buckets. He had a game-high 20 points on eight of 14 shooting, regularly capitalizing on favorable matchups against players who, in some cases, were seven or more inches shorter than him. Jamel Artis (17 points) and Cam Johnson (16) also played quite well and, hey, how about Jonathan Milligan and his nine points in 12 minutes?

Notable stat: 15, as in 15 assists on 15 made field goals in the first half for Pitt. That kind of ball movement is not only an indication of an offense that works to get teammates the best possible shot, but it's also pretty much the ideal iteration of Kevin Stallings' offense, something he mentioned in the post-game press conference. Actually, I'm pretty sure most any coach would take that kind of a line. Regardless, it's a hell of an impressive feat.

Pitt also averaged 1.27 points per possession Friday, its best mark of the season.

What it means: It's another win against a team that Pitt has no excuse not to beat, but just as it has been in each of these types of games, there was a wrinkle to it that emerged during the game and was confirmed after it. In this case, it was the Panthers' inability to put away an opponent when given the chance, a so-called killer instinct. I didn't follow this program religiously until this season, only as a college basketball nut living in Pittsburgh beforehand, but this seems to be a problem with which fans are well-versed.

With a new coach, there was perhaps some belief or hope it could change, but Stallings noted this was something he heard in his months on the job and that he has seen at this early point in the season. Take tonight, for instance. Pitt was up 16 points at halftime and had the chance to extend that in the first five minutes of the second half against an overmatched team with an interim head coach who had never been a head coach at something other than a middle-school basketball camp. Morehead State, much to its players' and coach's credit, never completely wavered and got within seven points in the final seven minutes in a game in which it really had no business doing so. Stallings said after the game he's going to do what he can to get his players to display the same kind of intensity, passion and effort they do in a tight game when they're up 20 against a no-name foe. But on a team anchored around four seniors, should this kind of a situation even exist in the first place?

What's next: A visit to Maryland next Tuesday in what will be the Panthers' first true road game of the season. The Terrapins, ranked No. 23 in the USA Today coaches poll, are being given a 64 percent chance of winning, according to KenPom, with a projected final score of 75-71.

Notable quotables: "We definitely played in spurts offensively. It was just on us. I think playing more with energy was the key. When we started making shots, we started to pick up more energy and then we would go on a run. If we missed a shot or two, the energy kind of subsided and we would stop scoring." - Cam Johnson

"I was a little disappointed that we sort of had them on the ropes there at halftime and didn't come out and put them away. That was something we talked a lot about. We don't show any killer instinct yet. I haven't seen it. We talked about it. We really want to get rid of people when we have an opportunity to. I'm told it's a longstanding habit. I don't know. I haven't been around here very long. I'm told this group has historically been this way a bit. I've got to figure out some ways to get them to change that." - Kevin Stallings

"We just have to play with more passion, more energy and more effort defensively, and not wanting things to come easy to us. We can't stand around and hope things are easy and want the other team to go away on their own. Because that team plays hard, Morehead State does. They play hard. They're deficient in size, but they're not deficient in how hard they play. What you have to do in a situation like that is you have to go and try to play harder than them and then hope your physical attributes allow you to create separation. We were never threatened, but it still would have felt better if we would have gone out in the second half and created more separation. We weren't able to do that." - Stallings

"This group is really capable of making the game easy. It looked easy in the first half. If they want to make it look easy and want to play in a way to make it look easy, then it will be easy. If they want to make it hard, they can make it hard. It's really up to them. I know that sounds kind of silly, but that's kind of the way it is." - Stallings

"I knew this team was an unbelievable layup, dunk, post-up and free-throw-shooting team. I knew they were going to beat us if we allowed them to do that type of stuff -- to foul and let the ball get in the post consistently. What I was hopeful for was they wouldn't go nine of 12 from 3 in the first half. But sometimes you don't always get what you want." - Morehead State interim head coach Preston Spradlin

"No, honestly. I was a little surprised it was at seven just because I was trying not to look at the score. I was really trying to make sure we were doing what we were supposed to do. I think I looked over at the bench and said 'Seven?' I couldn't believe it. You can't think about winning and losing and that's really what I tried not to think about in this game." - Spradlin on if he sensed a possible upset down seven in the second half

"This game is not a measuring stick. It's not like throwing the baby out with the bath water. I'm from Eastern Kentucky. We say stuff like that." - Spradlin

"We told our kids 'Hey, man, if they beat us shooting jumpers, they beat us shooting jumpers.' They beat us shooting jumpers tonight. It is what it is. They have a shooting night anywhere less than this...I mean, they shot 58 percent from the 3. The Warriors don't do that. That's unbelievable." - Spradlin

"I used to coach at camps all the time. I was pretty good at it. I don't want to share my record, but I was pretty good at coaching sixth-graders and things like that." - Spradlin on the last time he was a head coach

Spradlin has inherited a very difficult situation with Sean Woods suddenly suspended while the school conducts an investigation surrounding complaints it has received about him. I have no clue what Spradlin's future holds and what direction Morehead State will turn if Woods is indeed let go. But, holy hell, Spradlin was a joy of a post-game quote. We need more people like him in sports, at all levels.

Craig Meyer: cmeyer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @CraigMeyerPG