PITTSBURGH — Coming off the heels of an emphatic win in the Backyard Brawl and before Pitt heads into a rugged four-game non-conference stretch away from home court, the Panthers welcomed in the VMI Keydets to the Petersen Events Center for a Monday evening contest.
Sophomore guard Jaland Lowe dazzled in all facets, recording a triple-double, to help the Panthers close its season-opening homestand with a 93-48 over VMI.
Lowe finished the night with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the first Pitt player to register a triple-double since Carlton “Bub” Carrington did so in the 2023-24 season opener against NC A&T. Lowe becomes the sixth player in Pitt history to record a triple-double.
Six Pitt (5-0) players reached double digits against VMI (4-2) with Ishmael Leggett leading the Panthers with 14. Guillermo Diaz Graham added 13, while Jorge Diaz Graham and Cameron Corhen posted 12 points.
Pitt converted 55.7 percent of its shots from the floor, the high mark so far this season.
Corhen established his presence in the paint in the opening minutes, scoring eight of the Pitt’s first 12 points. He made light work of VMI forward Kaden Stuckey, spinning and hitting on a floater to open the scoring, while also adding a baseline dunk from Lowe feed to make it 8-0.
Pitt played suffocating defense early on as the Keydets struggled to finish around the rim. The Panthers also added pressure around mid-court several times, leading to takeaways. Lowe finished on a fastbreak lay-in after him and Dunn forced a turnover to make it 19-6.
While Pitt scored with ease in the paint, it failed repeatedly to hit from beyond the arc and the shots that were released were often not close with Lowe and Dunn missing well off target, along with a wide open miss from Amsal Delalic.
As Pitt floundered from outside, VMI began to chip away at the deficit. Guard Linus Holmstrom, who led the Keydets with nine points at half, scored inside while drawing a foul as he would convert on a the three-point play. A minute later, he buried a corner three that brought VMI within three points, 21-18, forcing Pitt head coach Jeff Capel to call a timeout.
Whatever Capel said in that timeout worked as the Panthers limited VMI to two points in the last 5:56 as Pitt went on an 18-2 run to close the half.
The surge was ignited by Pitt’s first triple of the game after starting 0-for-9 from deep thanks to Leggett. Dunn would also add a triple, while Brandin Cummings scored his first points of the night on a breakaway slam to put the Panthers ahead 39-20 at the break.
Pitt carried over its dominating run into the second half with Leggett scoring a quick five points, including a triple from the wing. Guillermo Diaz Graham added a triple before VMI called a timeout just three minutes into the frame.
Lowe eventually broke through with his own 3-pointer at the 13:49 mark as he continued to impact the game in various ways. Minutes later, he sent up a no-look lob as Zack Austin threw down the emphatic alley-oop to make it 61-34 Pitt.
Pitt added to its red-hot shooting, hitting on six-straight buckets going into the under-eight media timeout with Dunn knocking down a triple and a floater to jump into double figures. Delalic cashed in on his first points of the night on a triple from the right wing to push Pitt ahead 71-38.
Cummings threw down his second showtime dunk of the game in the late stages against the Keydets, while forward Jorge Diaz Graham would add a pair of triples from outside off the bench.
Lowe notched his first-career triple-double after picking up a defensive rebound and seconds later dishing to Jorge for his fourth triple of the game.
VMI was paced by Holmstrom with 15 points, while TJ Johnson added 12.
Pitt begins the Greenbrier Tip-Off Tournament on Friday against LSU at 2:30 p.m. The Panthers’ second game in White Sulphur Springs, W.V. will be either Wisconsin or UCF on Sunday, Nov. 24.
It’s comforting to see Pitt is blowing out these opponents, granted it’s mid to low level teams but still I remember when it was a challenge to get a win just a few years ago. If Pitt wants to make it to the Tourney gonna have to win a lot of these upcoming games which I do think they’ll be competitive in. H2P!