The story: Pitt took control early and overcame some low spells against a challenging zone defense to log an 83-64 win over Gardner-Webb on Monday night at the Petersen Events Center.
Teams: Pitt (3-0), Gardner-Webb (1-2)
Stat leaders:
Ishmael Leggett: 21 points, 7/9 FG, 3/4 3FG, 4/4 FT, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
Damian Dunn: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
Cameron Corhen: 12 points, 6 rebounds
A quiet night for Lowe
While Pitt got what it needed - and has come to expect - from Leggett and Dunn, but sophomore point guard Jaland Lowe was noticeably quiet. After scoring 20+ in each of the Panthers’ first two games, Lowe scored just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting on Monday night, including misses on all three of his three-point attempts. He did have five assists and a game-high three steals, but Lowe can’t have many nights with single-digit scoring.
Leggett again
Leggett made baskets throughout the game, but few were as big as the three-pointers he made after Gardner-Webb cut Pitt’s lead to 12 in the second half. His scoring was nearly even between the halves - 11 points in the first and 10 in the second - and he led the team in scoring in each half. Now Leggett is Pitt’s leading scorer with 59 points through three games.
Cold from deep
Pitt attempted 30 three-point shots in the game, but made just nine of those. Leggett led the charge with three makes, while Zack Austin and Guillermo Diaz Graham hit a pair each (although the latter needed eight attempts to get two to go in).
A sluggish stretch - and a bounce-back
Despite - and perhaps because of - Pitt’s commanding lead, the Panthers went cold in the final five minutes of the first half. After Leggett hit two free throws to put Pitt ahead by 20, the home team didn’t score again in the half and missed nine consecutive field goal attempts before heading to the locker room, largely while struggling against a zone defense from Gardner-Webb.
The issues carried over to the second half. While Pitt scored 10 points before the first media timeout, the Panthers continued to struggle with the zone and shot 7-of-20 from the field until the final eight minutes.
Then the shots started falling. From the 8:07 mark on, Pitt hit 10-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from three.
Delalic’s debut
Monday night saw the long-awaited debut of Amsal Delalic, the freshman from Bosnia & Herzegovina who signed with Pitt this offseason but had his on-court arrival delayed by a hand injury suffered in September. Delalic checked into Monday night’s game at the 6:15 mark of the first half and recorded an assist 10 seconds later on a feed to Cameron Corhen.
Delalic scored his first points with a three-point shot at the 3:13 mark of the second half, and he finished the game with three points on 1-of-4 shooting plus one rebound and two assists (although he did miss both of his free throw attempts, which were on one-and-one shots).
Points in the paint
Last Friday night, Murray State made its game against Pitt competitive by scoring on drives, accumulating 20 paint points in the first half alone. On Monday night, Pitt clamped down on Gardner-Webb’s lead guards early and only allowed three successful layups in the first 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs found more success in the second half, though, converting seven layups and scoring 24 points in the paint.
Ultimately, Pitt outscored Gardner-Webb in the paint, 38-32.
In terms of the guards, Gardner-Webb’s top scorers - Darryl Simmons and Anthony Selden, who came into the game averaging 20 and 19.5 points per game, respectively - were held to 22 combined points on 9-of-24 shooting.
Emptying the bench
Jeff Capel deployed 10 players in Monday’s game, and all 10 of them saw time in both the first and second halves. After rolling with the standard starting lineup of Lowe, Leggett, Dunn, Guillermo Diaz Graham and Corhen, Capel subbed in Austin, who played 24 minutes off the bench, and Brandin Cummings, who played nine.
Additionally, Jorge Diaz Graham, Delalic, Papa Amadou Kante and Amdy Ndiaye all rotated in. In total, Capel used 14 unique lineups; particularly unique among those was a Lowe/Delalic/Austin/Jorge Diaz Graham/Amadou Kante grouping in the first half and these second-half combinations:
Lowe/Delalic/Austin/Diaz Graham/Diaz Graham
Cummings/Delalic/Austin/Jorge Diaz Graham/Amadou Kante
Cummings/Delalic/Ndiyae/Jorge Diaz Graham/Amadou Kante
In terms of plus/minus, Ndiyae (2 minutes), Cummings (9 minutes), Amadou Kante (4 minutes), Jorge Diaz Graham (9 minutes), and Delalic (9 minutes) were all in the minus (albeit single digits).
Up next
Pitt’s first big test of the season will happen this Friday night when West Virginia (2-0) comes to the Petersen Events Center for an 8 pm tipoff.
Teams: Pitt (3-0), Gardner-Webb (1-2)
Stat leaders:
Ishmael Leggett: 21 points, 7/9 FG, 3/4 3FG, 4/4 FT, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
Damian Dunn: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
Cameron Corhen: 12 points, 6 rebounds
A quiet night for Lowe
While Pitt got what it needed - and has come to expect - from Leggett and Dunn, but sophomore point guard Jaland Lowe was noticeably quiet. After scoring 20+ in each of the Panthers’ first two games, Lowe scored just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting on Monday night, including misses on all three of his three-point attempts. He did have five assists and a game-high three steals, but Lowe can’t have many nights with single-digit scoring.
Leggett again
Leggett made baskets throughout the game, but few were as big as the three-pointers he made after Gardner-Webb cut Pitt’s lead to 12 in the second half. His scoring was nearly even between the halves - 11 points in the first and 10 in the second - and he led the team in scoring in each half. Now Leggett is Pitt’s leading scorer with 59 points through three games.
Cold from deep
Pitt attempted 30 three-point shots in the game, but made just nine of those. Leggett led the charge with three makes, while Zack Austin and Guillermo Diaz Graham hit a pair each (although the latter needed eight attempts to get two to go in).
A sluggish stretch - and a bounce-back
Despite - and perhaps because of - Pitt’s commanding lead, the Panthers went cold in the final five minutes of the first half. After Leggett hit two free throws to put Pitt ahead by 20, the home team didn’t score again in the half and missed nine consecutive field goal attempts before heading to the locker room, largely while struggling against a zone defense from Gardner-Webb.
The issues carried over to the second half. While Pitt scored 10 points before the first media timeout, the Panthers continued to struggle with the zone and shot 7-of-20 from the field until the final eight minutes.
Then the shots started falling. From the 8:07 mark on, Pitt hit 10-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from three.
Delalic’s debut
Monday night saw the long-awaited debut of Amsal Delalic, the freshman from Bosnia & Herzegovina who signed with Pitt this offseason but had his on-court arrival delayed by a hand injury suffered in September. Delalic checked into Monday night’s game at the 6:15 mark of the first half and recorded an assist 10 seconds later on a feed to Cameron Corhen.
Delalic scored his first points with a three-point shot at the 3:13 mark of the second half, and he finished the game with three points on 1-of-4 shooting plus one rebound and two assists (although he did miss both of his free throw attempts, which were on one-and-one shots).
Points in the paint
Last Friday night, Murray State made its game against Pitt competitive by scoring on drives, accumulating 20 paint points in the first half alone. On Monday night, Pitt clamped down on Gardner-Webb’s lead guards early and only allowed three successful layups in the first 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs found more success in the second half, though, converting seven layups and scoring 24 points in the paint.
Ultimately, Pitt outscored Gardner-Webb in the paint, 38-32.
In terms of the guards, Gardner-Webb’s top scorers - Darryl Simmons and Anthony Selden, who came into the game averaging 20 and 19.5 points per game, respectively - were held to 22 combined points on 9-of-24 shooting.
Emptying the bench
Jeff Capel deployed 10 players in Monday’s game, and all 10 of them saw time in both the first and second halves. After rolling with the standard starting lineup of Lowe, Leggett, Dunn, Guillermo Diaz Graham and Corhen, Capel subbed in Austin, who played 24 minutes off the bench, and Brandin Cummings, who played nine.
Additionally, Jorge Diaz Graham, Delalic, Papa Amadou Kante and Amdy Ndiaye all rotated in. In total, Capel used 14 unique lineups; particularly unique among those was a Lowe/Delalic/Austin/Jorge Diaz Graham/Amadou Kante grouping in the first half and these second-half combinations:
Lowe/Delalic/Austin/Diaz Graham/Diaz Graham
Cummings/Delalic/Austin/Jorge Diaz Graham/Amadou Kante
Cummings/Delalic/Ndiyae/Jorge Diaz Graham/Amadou Kante
In terms of plus/minus, Ndiyae (2 minutes), Cummings (9 minutes), Amadou Kante (4 minutes), Jorge Diaz Graham (9 minutes), and Delalic (9 minutes) were all in the minus (albeit single digits).
Up next
Pitt’s first big test of the season will happen this Friday night when West Virginia (2-0) comes to the Petersen Events Center for an 8 pm tipoff.
