PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers (10-2) wrapped up their non-conference schedule and their final game in 2024 with a blowout win over Sam Houston (6-6) at the Petersen Events Center. On a snowy day in the city of Pittsburgh, the Panthers provided the heat as they had a fantastic shooting performance in the 110-78 win over the Bearkats.
The Panthers’ 110 points are a new team-high this season as the previous high was 96 points, which happened twice this season. It also marked the most points a Pitt team has scored under Jeff Capel.
In the win, the Panthers shot 59% from the field and 52% from behind the arc and had four players score at least 15 points with Ishmael Leggett and Zack Austin leading all Pitt scorers with 23 points each.
The Panthers managed two first-half “kill shots,” runs of 10-0 or better, against the Bearkats which led to their double-digit halftime lead and ultimately to their 32-point victory over Sam Houston.
The Panthers started the game on a 10-0 run that was fueld by threes from each Jaland Lowe and Austin. The Bearkats managed to pull the score back to 17-14 with two small runs of their own, 5-0 and 6-0, but the Panthers answered right back with an 11-0 run that extended their lead to 14 points.
The offensive attacks were fairly even the rest of the way as Pitt kept it’s double-digit lead as the two teams headed into the locker rooms for halftime. The Panthers led 52-40 at the intermissison.
The second half started with the teams trading buckets but the Panthers eventually pushed their lead to 20 points when Lowe found Cam Corhen for an alley-oop slam at the 13:05 mark of the second half.
The Panthers then extended their lead to 24 points later in the half after back-to-back triples from Leggett and Brandin Cummings. That 24-point lead eventually grew to 30 and beyond as the Panthers cruised to the finish line and wrapped up the 32-point win.
The Panthers received solid offensive efforts from four of their starters as besides Leggett’s and Austin’s 23 points a piece, Corhen scored 15 and Lowe ended with a double-double on 18 points and 11 assists.
In the loss, the Bearkats were paced by Cameron Huefner’s game-high 26 points and Lamar Wilkerson’s 15 points. Wilkerson entered the game as the Bearkats leading scorer as he averaged just over 20 points per game.
The Panthers return to action on New Year’s Day when they play their second ACC foe of the season, Cal.
