TAMPA, Fla. - Sam Young scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, and No. 20 Pittsburgh rebounded from losing its Big East opener with a 79-66 victory over South Florida on Wednesday night.

Pittsburgh forward Sam Young takes an arm to the face by South Florida's Kentrell Gransberry while trying to shoot during the second half of a college basketball game Wednesday Jan 9, 2008 in Tampa, Fla. Pittsburgh beat South Florida 79-66. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Keith Benjamin scored 20 points for the Panthers (13-2, 1-1), 11 of them in the first half when Pitt built a double-digit lead while Young was on the bench with two fouls. His long 3-pointer finished a 19-6 run that blew the game open in the second half.

Kentrell Gransberry matched his career high with 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for South Florida (10-6, 1-2). Jesus Verdejo scored 17 points for the Bulls, who trailed 54-50 before Pitt pulled away for good.

Young scored eight points during the second-half surge that broke the game open. His 3-pointer put the Panthers up 69-56 with 7 minutes left and Benjamin's third 3-pointer of the game gave Pitt its biggest lead, 73-56, with 4:13 to go.

Pitt, still learning to play without injured starters Levance Fields and Mike Cook, bounced back from last Sunday's 63-62 loss at No. 19 Villanova, a game in which the Panthers turned the ball over 22 times.

The Panthers shot 53 percent and did a much better job of taking care of the basketball against USF, finishing with 10 turnovers.

The Bulls, coming off a 12-point road loss to Syracuse, dropped to 8-70 all-time against ranked teams.

Pittsburgh took control in the first half, pulling away from a 22-22 tie with a 13-2 run led by Benjamin. The senior guard scored eight points during the spurt, while Gilbert Brown had the other five.

Brown finished with 10 points and DeJuan Blair had 12 points and nine rebounds.