Jaland Lowe's Breakout Game Lifts Pitt to Big Win

The Pitt Panthers got a huge lift from Jaland Lowe's breakout game.

PITTSBURGH -- For the first time this season, the Panthers looked uncomfortable. They were locked in a battle with Florida Gulf Coast - a good team, but not one any Power 5 team wants to find themselves in a close game with. They were cold offensively, disconnected defensively and in desperate need of a spark. 

Freshman guard Jaland Lowe delivered just that, far out-playing an already impressive stat line of 12 points on 5-9 shooting, two assists and no turnovers Through two games, everyone knew Pitt had at least one standout freshman on the roster. They really have two and Lowe proved that, piecing together a breakout performance off the bench against the Panthers' toughest opponent yet. 

"I thought Jaland Lowe came in in the first half and was unbelievable," head coach Jeff Capel said. "It was great to see him trust his shot and trust his instincts, and I thought he gave us a huge boost."

That boost came quickly - 1:13 into Lowe's first shift on the floor - and began with the patient execution of a pick and roll with Guillermo Diaz Graham. Lowe crossed over once, then again, then a third time, getting a new screen from his partner each time. On the third move, he drove but couldn’t find an opening, so lept behind the basket to draw another defender and dumped off a perfect bounce pass off to Diaz Graham for a wide-open dunk that put the Panthers up by four. 

Lowe missed his first shot but made his next two - a confident pull-up triple, the first make from deep range in his collegiate career, and a driving layup in which he took advantage of a mismatch on a big man. 

Both buckets helped spark and sustain a 15-5 run over the final five minutes of the first half that sent Pitt into halftime with a double-digit lead. In 15 minutes with Lowe on the floor, the Panthers outscored their opponent by 10 points. And he was a net positive on the court for more than his scoring. 

Capel said he thought Lowe's defense and facilitating were indispensable as well. When Lowe wasn't hitting shots - he had made just three of 14 field goal attempts in his first two games - those things don't get as much shine when he'd been doing them all along. 

"He’s a good player, man. He is," Capel said. "We’re talking about the shots, I thought he made some heck of a passes, you know, off the ball screen. That’s what he’s been doing all the time. I thought maybe he was a little bit pressed because he couldn’t make a shot, that he got away from that a little bit. I thought today he was back more of who he’s been - this guy that can play-make and do some different things."

That confidence he played with was palpable. He didn't score as much as his backcourt mates, Ishmael Leggett and Bub Carrington, who got more minutes and shots and played well themselves. But Lowe's impact on the game was just as significant. 

None of his teammates or coaches thought Lowe had played poorly before this game, but they enjoyed watching his talent flourish and hard work payoff with tangible results on the court in a crucial win. 

"He saw a couple shots go in and I think that really just showed him, like, ‘I belong out here,’" Leggett said. "We have 100% trust in him, so his work just came to light."

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