PITTSBURGH — Welcome to the Pittsburgh Sports Now live blog from inside the Petersen Events Center as Pitt takes on Towson on Friday night. Stick around throughout the game for news and notes throughout the night.
FINAL: Pitt 63, Towson 59
2H: 2:22 Pitt 58, Towson 55
Noah Collier has provided a significant spark for Pitt, who was in need of any points it could find. The sophomore hit an and-one lay up, threw down a powerful dunk, grabbed a steal, and blocked a shot all in the last five minutes, sparking the Panthers rally.
2H: 7:49: Pitt 45 Towson 44
Will Jeffress came down very hard on his back/side after jumping for a loose ball. Appeared to be ok.
Pitt has better percentages than Towson in both field goals and three-point field goals, but can’t seem to find a way to build a lead. Jamarius Burton has hit multiple confident mid-range jumpers, but is just 4 of 11 from the field. Hugley has also not seen the floor in more than 10 minutes.
2H: 11:11: Pitt 41 Towson 39
Pitt’s supporting cast is showing some serious fight, and has brought the Panthers back in the lead. Odukale and Hugley haven’t been on the floor in a while and players such as Jamarius Burton, Dan Oladapo, Noah Collier, and Will Jeffress have been giving the Panthers a spark. Santos leading with 12 and 7, Oladapo has nine points on 4-4 shooting.
2H: 15:26: Pitt 33 Towson 37
Pitt came out of the half slowly, and is inching its way back behind freshman Nate Santos. Santos is playing the best game of his young career and has 12 points and 6 rebounds. Odukale and Gueye both have 0 points, which is concerning as those two came into the season looking like Pitt’s best playmakers. Pitt now shooting 37% from the floor, 31% from three.
HALFTIME: Pitt 26 Towson 29
The good news for Pitt: Nate Santos is heating up from downtown, and has nine points on 3-for-6 shooting. He also has five rebounds, a block, and a steal to go along with his nine points. Pitt is winning the rebound battle 20-14, and has 6 offensive boards. Oladapo (2-2, 5 points) has once again been a nice option for the Panthers when he has the ball in his hands inside.
The bad news for Pitt: You take out Santos, and the rest of the team is just 5 of 19 (26%). The Panthers have struggled to get good looks all game really, other than a few good inside shots by Hugley (7 points).
Towson’s Cam Holden is torching the Panthers with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting (3-3 3FG). As a team, the Tigers are shooting 43.5% from the field as well as 36.4% from three-point range.
1H: 3:41 Pitt 18 Towson 22
Pitt has not scored in the last three minutes, and has hit just one of its last 8 shots. Towson is on a 7-0 run. Pitt is shooting 29% from the field and just 22% from three. During the timeout, Femi Odukale ran back out to the bench. Sitting for now, but was only in the locker room for a few minutes, which is a good sign.
1H: 7:30: Pitt 17, Towson 15
Femi Odukale came down awkwardly on a rebound in traffic and appeared to injure his leg, looked like his ankle. Subbed out immediately and is heading to the locker room.
1H: 8:59: Pitt 15 Towson 14
Panthers shot selection has not been very good so far, as they have already attempted more threes in this one than they did in each of the last two. 2 for 6 from deep. Santos an early bright spot, leading with 6 points and 4 boards.
1H: 12:34: Pitt 10 Towson 10
Nate Santos knocked down a corner three, Jeffress hit a pair of free-throws. Pitt’s defense seems to have tightened up after giving up a few easy buckets out of the gates. Noah Collier, Mo Gueye, and Jamarius Burton checked in for the first time.
1H: 16:15: Pitt 5, Towson 10
Dan Oladapo hit a nice and-one lay-up off a spin move in the lane. John Hugley with a lay-up and two missed free throws. Towson is 2-3 from three.
PREGAME:
Pitt’s starting lineup:
Odukale
Santos
Jeffress
Oladapo
Hugley
