Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Sam Young scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading 14th-ranked Pittsburgh to a 78-52 victory over Toledo at Petersen Events Center.

Mike Cook added 14 points and DeJuan Blair contributed 11 points with 11 rebounds for the Panthers (7-0), who have won their first seven games for the sixth consecutive season.

Tyrone Kent scored 22 points for Toledo (1-6), which has lost six straight games since a season-opening victory against Missouri State.

The Panthers led just 34-28 at the break and it was still a six-point game after the teams traded baskets to start the second half, but a 20-6 run gave Pittsburgh some breathing room.

Young and Cook each scored four during the spurt and Keith Benjamin capped it with a pair of three-pointers, giving the Panthers a 56-36 cushion with just over 10 minutes remaining.

The Rockets never recovered.

"We, maybe, were a little bit sluggish at the start and they definitely came in ready to play," said Young. "Going up against a ranked team I'm sure they saw this as a chance to make a name for themselves. We were able to weather the storm early, though, get back to playing our kind of basketball and make sure that didn't happen."

Toledo finished shooting just 34.5 percent and made only 7-of-27 three-point tries. The Rockets hit only 2-of-13 from beyond the arc in the second half.

Pittsburgh shot 43.1 percent and held a dominant 51-28 advantage on the boards.

"Pitt had a lot to do with our performance in the second half, being the strongest team we have faced thus far," said Toledo head coach Stan Joplin. "We are usually a second half team, but Pitt wasn't turning the ball over at all and had a lot of good shots."

Toledo raced out to a 9-2 edge and led 12-4 just under four minutes into the game after a three-pointer by Corey Bingham. The Rockets still led by seven, 21-14, with just under nine minutes left in the half, but Pittsburgh used a 12-2 run to move in front.

Cook drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 23-23 and followed with a three-point play to put the Panthers ahead.

It was tied at 28-28 before Young nailed a jumper with just over a minute to play, sparking a 6-0 Panther run to close the half.

Pittsburgh shot 43 percent in the opening 20 minutes and made only 1-of-6 three-point tries, while Toledo kept it close by hitting 5-of-14 from beyond the arc. The Panthers also held a 21-11 edge on the boards in the first half.