Pitt Shakes Off Early Jitters in Win Over Point Park

After a cold first half, Pitt basketball found their rhythm

Mar 15, 2024; Washington, D.C., USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Ishmael Leggett (5) controls the ball as North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot (5) defends during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt basketball kicked off with a 93-62 win in an exhibition against Point Park. After an offseason of hype, the Panthers, looking to "Leave No Doubt", gave the world a taste of what this season could look like.

Much of the offseason hype around Pitt's returning guards sophomore Jaland Lowe and senior Ishmael Leggett was well founded. Lowe finished with 22 points on 7/13 shooting and Leggett recorded a game-high 24 points on 8/9 shooting with three triples. Leggett also added nine rebounds and led the Panthers with five assists.

Pitt led 50-42 at the half -- much closer than the home crowd and head coach Jeff Capel would've liked. Pitt's small lead was due to poor defense, the Pioneers making tough mid-range shots and shooting 5-11 from deep.

If it weren't for Leggett's 15 points on perfect shooting including two of Pitt's four triples and Lowe's 16 points, it looked possible the Panthers trail their division two opponent.

Leggett and Lowe have the ability to power the Panthers on both ends of the floor, but after losing Bub Carrington and Blake Hinson to the NBA, help is needed.

That help might be found in junior forward Cameron Corhen, who transferred from Flordia State in the offseason. At 6'10" and 235 pounds, Corhen was poised as the offensive paint presence Pitt lacked last season. Like the rest of the Panthers, Corhen's shooting in the first half was cold but grabbed six rebounds.

Out of the break, the Panthers looked to get Corhen more involved and the transfer dominated for the rest of the contest. Three of Pitt's first four second-half possessions involved giving Corhen the ball in the low post. Corhen recorded 12 points on 6/7 shooting and five rebounds in the second half. Corhen, who averaged 9.3 last season at Flordia State, can easily be the missing piece.

"It was good to go out there and get the jitters out, but second half I got it going," Corhen said after the game.

Pitt's other two starters' cold shooting never subsided Junior forward Guillermo Diaz Graham shot 1-6 from beyond the arc. Redshirt senior forward Zach Austin, who isn't necessarily on the floor to score, shot 0-2 from deep.

There is optimism, though. It's easy to write off any bad shooting night as just that, a bad shooting night. It's even easier when that night is in the first game of basketball with a crowd, scorers table, refs, and an opponent that isn't Panthers in a different pinny. Last season, Diaz Graham shot 40.5% from deep, the second-highest efficiency behind Hinson. That leaves plenty of room for optimism that the Canary Islands, Spain native can shoot better in coming games.

The Panthers' first-half defense was worrying. It's easy to excuse the Pioneers' hot shooting streak, but there was a surprising amount of buckets at the rim and in the paint. But holding Point Park to 20 second-half points on 9-32 shooting and forcing 13 turnovers is exactly the type of response Capel expects his Panthers to have.

"We focused a lot more on defense," Leggett said after the game on their half-time adjustments. "Coach said in the locker room that defense is our best offense."

The first man off the bench was graduate student guard Damian Dunn who transferred from Houston in the offseason. Dunn fits the classic mold of a spark of offense off the bench. The veteran is a skilled mid-range jump shooter and passer out of the pick-and-roll.

Capel mentioned after the game that Point Park led the nation in three-point-percentage-allowed in the NAIA division. With the Pioneers big man often dropping on screens, playing in the paint, allowing the ball-handler to shoot, and prioritizing not giving up open three-pointers, Capel knew Dunn's skillset could thrive against the Pioneers. Dunn finished with six points on 3/7 shooting and three assists.

Another guard talented in the mid-range is first-year guard Brandin Cummings, a four-star from Midland, PA, a town just outside of Pittsburgh. Cummings was the second man off the bench, and while only played four first-half minutes, attempted two difficult mid-range jumpers and made one. Cummings finished with eight points and two assists.

Pitt's season opener is Nov. 4 against Radford at the Petersen Event Center. Look for the Panthers to come out of the gates shooting better and with a better focus on the defensive end.

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