If Jeff Capel wanted a good test for his 2024-25 team, he got it on Friday night at the Petersen Events Center as a more-than-game Murray State team that pushed Pitt for more than 30 minutes before the Panthers pulled away for an 83-68 win.
Teams: Pitt (2-0) Murray State (1-1)
Stat leaders:
Jaland Lowe - 20 points, 6/15 FG, 2/4 3FG, 6/6 FT
Damian Dunn - 19 points, 6/11 FG, 3/5 3FG
Ishmael Leggett - 19 points, 6/10 FG, 7 rebs
Cameron Corhen - 13 points, 10 rebounds, 6/8 FG
Storylines and notables
Flow of the game
In the first 11 minutes of the game Friday night, Pitt seemed to be in control. The Panthers first took a 10-point lead at 19-9 and carried that through to a 29-19 advantage. But Pitt went cold and Murray State went on a run, eventually drawing even at 32-32 and then holding a 39-38 lead in the final 30 seconds of the half.
The Racers continued to play the Panthers close until the final 7:46 of the game. At that point, Pitt was clinging to a 66-65 lead, but they held Murray State without a field goal for the rest of the night and outscored the Racers 17-3 in that stretch.
Murray State’s attack
Murray State brought a senior-laden roster into the Petersen Events Center on Friday night, and the Racers’ veterans played like veterans. Senior guards Kyle Milton, Terrence Harcum and JaCobi Wood all scored in double figures, and Murray State attacked Pitt largely by driving to the basket.
That approach was effective, as the Racers scored 20 points in the paint and hit 16-of-29 (55.2%) field goal attempts in the first half.
Murray State’s slowdown
The Racers got off to a hot start in the second half as well, hitting five of their first eight attempts after halftime. The fifth of those makes cut Pitt’s lead to two at 55-53, but Murray State only made three more baskets the entire rest of the game, missing six layups and eight three-point attempts.
Foul issues
Pitt ran into foul trouble at a few key spots in the game. In the first half, Lowe and Diaz Graham were limited in their minutes due to having two fouls. In the second half, the issues were centered around the center position; Corhen picked up his fourth foul at the 11:49 mark, and Diaz Graham got his fourth three minutes later.
As a result of the foul problems, Pitt couldn’t use Corhen and Diaz Graham together, but each seemed to play well without the other. Diaz Graham scored all seven of his points in the game during the stretch when Corhen was out, and Corhen had four points and two rebounds without Diaz Graham on the court.
The situation gave Diaz Graham an opportunity to play more center, where he played last season before shifting to more of a power forward role this season. His role going forward remains to be seen, although Capel said he likes Diaz Graham ability to play at multiple positions.
X-factor
Corhen called Zack Austin the “x-factor” for his rim protection, and Austin produced in that area with five blocks, including three in the second half. Austin also grabbed eight rebounds; all of them were on the defensive end and seven came in the second half.
Starred plays
In every game, there are a handful of plays that earn stars for their impact on the game. Here are a few that got starred in Pitt’s win over Murray State:
- Late in the first half, Lowe returned after sitting for more than seven minutes with foul trouble. Upon his return, he drove for a layup that cut the Racers’ lead to one and then drained a three in the final seconds of the half to send Pitt to the locker room with a two-point lead.
- Diaz Graham and Brandin Cummings had a pair of huge connections in the second half after Murray state tied the game at 57-57. First, Cummings found Diaz Graham for a three that represented the junior forward’s first points of the game. Then, after Leggett corralled a defensive rebound, he threw a pass ahead that was either for Cummings or someone in Cummings’ area; either way, the freshman guard collected the ball and immediately dished to Diaz Graham, who ran through the lane for a big dunk.
- As Pitt was pulling away in the final six minutes, the Panthers truly iced the game in a three-minute sequence. First, a Lowe steal led to a Leggett three (which was initially ruled a two-point shot but changed on review during the next timeout). Then another Lowe steal led to a three from Dunn late in the shot cluck. And after Leggett grabbed another defensive rebound, Dunn missed a layup but Corhen grabbed the rebound and slammed a put-back dunk.
After those three plays, Pitt’s lead had ballooned from 71-65 to 79-65, and the game was essentially out of reach for Murray State.
Almost Delalic
Pitt’s social media account raised some eyebrows before the game when it said that freshman wing Amsal Delalic was “expected to be in uniform” on Friday night.
Delalic may or may not have been in uniform, but he never got out of his warmups and never played. Capel said after the game that Delalic was not available, but added that he will be available for Monday night’s game against Gardner-Webb at the Petersen Events Center.
“And he will play,” Capel added.
Up next
Pitt (2-0) will look to stay undefeated in a 7 pm tipoff against Gardner-Webb on Monday night. The Bulldogs are 1-1 after losing at Tennessee in their season opener this past Monday and winning at North Carolina Central tonight.
Teams: Pitt (2-0) Murray State (1-1)
Stat leaders:
Jaland Lowe - 20 points, 6/15 FG, 2/4 3FG, 6/6 FT
Damian Dunn - 19 points, 6/11 FG, 3/5 3FG
Ishmael Leggett - 19 points, 6/10 FG, 7 rebs
Cameron Corhen - 13 points, 10 rebounds, 6/8 FG
Storylines and notables
Flow of the game
In the first 11 minutes of the game Friday night, Pitt seemed to be in control. The Panthers first took a 10-point lead at 19-9 and carried that through to a 29-19 advantage. But Pitt went cold and Murray State went on a run, eventually drawing even at 32-32 and then holding a 39-38 lead in the final 30 seconds of the half.
The Racers continued to play the Panthers close until the final 7:46 of the game. At that point, Pitt was clinging to a 66-65 lead, but they held Murray State without a field goal for the rest of the night and outscored the Racers 17-3 in that stretch.
Murray State’s attack
Murray State brought a senior-laden roster into the Petersen Events Center on Friday night, and the Racers’ veterans played like veterans. Senior guards Kyle Milton, Terrence Harcum and JaCobi Wood all scored in double figures, and Murray State attacked Pitt largely by driving to the basket.
That approach was effective, as the Racers scored 20 points in the paint and hit 16-of-29 (55.2%) field goal attempts in the first half.
Murray State’s slowdown
The Racers got off to a hot start in the second half as well, hitting five of their first eight attempts after halftime. The fifth of those makes cut Pitt’s lead to two at 55-53, but Murray State only made three more baskets the entire rest of the game, missing six layups and eight three-point attempts.
Foul issues
Pitt ran into foul trouble at a few key spots in the game. In the first half, Lowe and Diaz Graham were limited in their minutes due to having two fouls. In the second half, the issues were centered around the center position; Corhen picked up his fourth foul at the 11:49 mark, and Diaz Graham got his fourth three minutes later.
As a result of the foul problems, Pitt couldn’t use Corhen and Diaz Graham together, but each seemed to play well without the other. Diaz Graham scored all seven of his points in the game during the stretch when Corhen was out, and Corhen had four points and two rebounds without Diaz Graham on the court.
The situation gave Diaz Graham an opportunity to play more center, where he played last season before shifting to more of a power forward role this season. His role going forward remains to be seen, although Capel said he likes Diaz Graham ability to play at multiple positions.
X-factor
Corhen called Zack Austin the “x-factor” for his rim protection, and Austin produced in that area with five blocks, including three in the second half. Austin also grabbed eight rebounds; all of them were on the defensive end and seven came in the second half.
Starred plays
In every game, there are a handful of plays that earn stars for their impact on the game. Here are a few that got starred in Pitt’s win over Murray State:
- Late in the first half, Lowe returned after sitting for more than seven minutes with foul trouble. Upon his return, he drove for a layup that cut the Racers’ lead to one and then drained a three in the final seconds of the half to send Pitt to the locker room with a two-point lead.
- Diaz Graham and Brandin Cummings had a pair of huge connections in the second half after Murray state tied the game at 57-57. First, Cummings found Diaz Graham for a three that represented the junior forward’s first points of the game. Then, after Leggett corralled a defensive rebound, he threw a pass ahead that was either for Cummings or someone in Cummings’ area; either way, the freshman guard collected the ball and immediately dished to Diaz Graham, who ran through the lane for a big dunk.
- As Pitt was pulling away in the final six minutes, the Panthers truly iced the game in a three-minute sequence. First, a Lowe steal led to a Leggett three (which was initially ruled a two-point shot but changed on review during the next timeout). Then another Lowe steal led to a three from Dunn late in the shot cluck. And after Leggett grabbed another defensive rebound, Dunn missed a layup but Corhen grabbed the rebound and slammed a put-back dunk.
After those three plays, Pitt’s lead had ballooned from 71-65 to 79-65, and the game was essentially out of reach for Murray State.
Almost Delalic
Pitt’s social media account raised some eyebrows before the game when it said that freshman wing Amsal Delalic was “expected to be in uniform” on Friday night.
Delalic may or may not have been in uniform, but he never got out of his warmups and never played. Capel said after the game that Delalic was not available, but added that he will be available for Monday night’s game against Gardner-Webb at the Petersen Events Center.
“And he will play,” Capel added.
Up next
Pitt (2-0) will look to stay undefeated in a 7 pm tipoff against Gardner-Webb on Monday night. The Bulldogs are 1-1 after losing at Tennessee in their season opener this past Monday and winning at North Carolina Central tonight.
