PITTSBURGH — On Saturday afternoon, Jeff Capel’s Pitt Panthers looked to veteran guard Nelly Cummings and sophomore forward Federiko Federiko to lead them to victory in a win over Sacred Heart, 91-66.
Leading by just two with 14 minutes to go, Pitt pulled away with a 23-8 run over the next seven minutes of play, highlighted by three Cummings three pointers and one off the hands of freshman Jorge Diaz-Graham.
Cummings led the Panthers with 24 points on the day, hitting six of his 12 three-point tries in the win. The Pittsburgh native ran the point all game, as lead guard Jamarius Burton missed the game due to knee inflammation. Cummings stepped up big for the Panthers, grabbing six rebounds, passing out five assists, and racking up four steals in an impressive outing.
Federiko followed with an impressive double-double performance, dropping 17-points and 14 rebounds in the win.
Pitt’s Greg Elliott had another strong game, hitting three of his five three-point attempts in a 18-point showing. Elliott has now posted five games of at least ten points and three three-pointers.
Blake Hinson also turned in another tremendous effort, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Sacred Heart’s Raheem Solomon led the way for the Pioneers, scoring 18 points and grabbing six rebounds.
Pitt’s Nike Sibande made his first start of the year, scoring six points and grabbing three rebounds in 25 minutes of action.
John Hugley began the game on the bench and struggled once again in the face of double-teams thrown at him by Sacred Heart. The big man scored two points and grabbed five rebounds in ten minutes.
Pitt now has a week off before its next game against North Florida on Saturday, Dec. 17. The Panthers will tip off at 1 p.m. from the Petersen Events Center, wrapping up their non-conference slate. That game will be televised on ACC Network.
Pitt is the clear class of the Northeast Conference lol.