Damian Dunn, Pitt Guards Shine in Tough Win Over Murray State, 83-68

PITTSBURGH — It was a full-court sprint between the Panthers and the Racers on Friday night at the Petersen Events Center.

In Pitt’s second game of the year, it took on Murray State at home, and battled back and forth with the Racers until the very end. With strong performances by Pitt guards Damian Dunn, Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett, the Panthers prevailed, taking home the 83-68 win.

Cam Corhen opened the scoring with a mid-range bucket off a nice feed from Jaland Lowe. Both players scored a basket and turned the ball over in the first five minutes of the game. Dunn turned in two early two pointers as well, and continued his hot streak. Dunn scored 11 of Pitt’s first 22 points, hitting four of his first five attempts, including a three.

Pitt built a strong lead early, but once Lowe and Guillermo Diaz Graham each picked up two fouls with more than nine minutes to play in the first half, Murray State steadily crawled back into the game. A Terence Harcum three followed by a KyeRon Lindsay mid-range bucket made the score 29-24 with 7:46 to play in the first. Then, Alden Applewhite made it a one-score game, and Murray State extended its run to 9-0 with a Jacobi Wood jumper.

Minutes later, after a nice move on Leggett, Murray State’s AJ Ferguson tied the game on a layup. The two teams battled throughout the rest of the half, and Murray State took its first lead on an and-one three from Ferguson. Lowe checked back in after the three, and to close out the half, hit Pitt’s final two shots of the frame, including a three with just seconds remaining on the clock. Pitt led, 41-39, going into the break.

Lowe finished the half with 12 points, as did Dunn. Leggett added nine points on 3-for-5 shooting, along with three rebounds. Corhen led the Panthers on the glass in the first, grabbing five boards. As a team, Pitt shot 58% from the field and 33% from three-point range in the half.

In the second half, the teams traded buckets early. More than five minutes in, Lowe drove to the hoop and found Dunn on the right wing, wide open. Dunn splashed home the three, extending Pitt’s lead to five. On the ensuing possession, Leggett was fouled and made one of two free throws. Finally, Pitt had a bit of breathing room, but it wasn’t much.

Minutes later, Corhen picked up his third and fourth fouls of the game in a 24-second span. After he went off to the bench, Guillermo Diaz Graham stepped up and hit his first three pointer of the game. Minutes later, Leggett tossed a 3/4-court pass down to Cummings, flying up the court in transition. There, Cummings dished a quick pass over to Diaz Graham without hesitation. He slammed home the two-handed dunk, igniting the Pitt crowd and taking a five-point lead.

However, per usual, the Racers would not give up. Out of a timeout, Harcum drained a wide-open three, cutting Pitt’s lead right back down to two. After Diaz Graham missed a free throw, Harcum drained another three, taking the lead for Murray State, 63-62, with 8:55 to play.

Corhen checked back in nearly one minute later, and instantly earned two more points on a right-handed floater in the lane.

Minutes later, leading by six, Pitt’s Leggett stepped into a wide-open three on the right wing. He drained it, once again igniting the Pitt faithful, and extending Pitt’s lead up to eight. On the next possession, Dunn, on an isolation play, knocked down a three pointer right in his defender’s face, to give him a game-high 19 points and Pitt an 11-point lead. To extend Pitt’s game-sealing run to 14-0, on a Dunn miss, Corhen slammed home a putback dunk. The Panthers now led 79-65.

Pitt closed out the victory in the final minutes, as Murray State could not buy a bucket offensively. The Racers went more than seven minutes without a field goal in the final minutes of the game.

Dunn finished with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, while Lowe added 20 on 6-for-15 shooting. Leggett chimed in with 18 points of his own, while Corhen had a double-double, scoring 13, and grabbing ten rebounds.

Pitt wing Amsal Delalic was in uniform for the game for the first time of his collegiate career, but did not play.

As a team, Pitt shot 51% from the field and 42% from three-point range. Pitt out-rebounded Murray State 36-30 in the win.

With the win, Pitt moves to 2-0 on the season. The Panthers will now take on Gardner-Webb on Monday, Nov. 11 at the Petersen Events Center. That game will tip off at 7 p.m.