PITTSBURGH — Jeff Capel’s Pitt Panthers led wire to wire en route to a lopsided victory over Jacksonville on Friday night at the Petersen Events Center, 107-56.
Ishmael Leggett and Blake Hinson combined for the first ten points of the game, as Pitt got out to an early double-digit lead. The Panthers never looked back, leading by as many as 52 points over the Dolphins and cruising their way to a 4-0 start to the season.
Once Jacksonville finally got on the board, the Panthers kept their foot on the gas, going on another double-digit streak and scoring the next 11 points to jump out to a 24-5 lead in the first 11 minutes of the game. The Dolphins hit just one shot out of their first 15 attempts as Pitt caught fire from the field.
Throughout the rest of the half, Pitt continued to find success looking to Hinson and Leggett. Hinson, the team’s leading scorer coming into the game, hit six of his 13 first-half attempts to score 21 points, while Leggett added ten points, hitting both of his three-point attempts. Guillermo Diaz-Graham came off the bench and shined early for the Panthers as well, hitting five of his six attempts in the first half for 11 points. Hinson (six rebounds) and Diaz-Graham (five rebounds) led a strong effort on the boards in the frame, as the Panthers out-rebounded Jacksonville 29-15 in the first half. At the break, Pitt led 52 to 22.
In the second half, Pitt continued its domination over the Dolphins, winning by a landslide. Freshman guard Bub Carrington caught fire early, hitting two more three pointers.
Hinson finished as the Panthers’ leading scorer with 25 points on 7-for-16 shooting. He hit four of his nine three-point attempts and also grabbed six rebounds in the win. Additionally, Carrington capped off another strong performance with 17 points, hitting five of his ten attempts (5 for 8 from three) in the win. Carrington also dished out four assists, while Lowe finished with a team-best five assists. Guillermo Diaz-Graham scored a career-high 23 points and added ten rebounds for a double-double, while Leggett added 14 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
The Panthers scored their most points of the season in the dominant victory, wrapping up the win with a late three pointer from Jorge Diaz-Graham and a free throw from KJ Marshall.
For the Dolphins, guard Marcus Niblack led the way with 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting. As a team, Jacksonville shot 33% from the field and 7% (1 for 14) from beyond the three-point line in the loss.
Five-star local prospect Meleek Thomas was in attendance for the win, along with Pitt signee Brandin Cummings.
Pitt now has several days off before its next game. The Panthers will travel to Brooklyn, New York for the Preseason NIT event. Their first game will be against Florida at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22. That game will be televised on either ESPN2 or ESPNU, per Pitt’s schedule.
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