PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Before anyone else on his team scored, Panthers Brandin Cummings had a career high with 12 points. The freshman guard would finish with 30 points as the Panthers beat Eastern Kentucky 96-56 Wednesday night at the Petersen Events Center.
Panthers needed Cummings early and he also contributed to a 23-0 run in the second half as the Panthers scored 34 of the first 42 points of the second 20 minutes after leading by three at halftime.
"Brandin was outstanding and we needed all of it," said Pitt head coach Jeff Capel. "He got us going. Everyone will talk about it as they should."
"I just felt good," Cummings, who goes by the nickname 'Beebah' said. "As a scorer, you know whenever it's your night. Whenever I first touched the rock tonight, I knew it was my night."
Cummings said he was helped by his teammates to prepare him for college basketball and he credited his teammates for putting him in situations to allow him to be successful Wednesday night.
It's the 3rd highest scoring game by a Pitt freshman in team history, tying him with Justin Champagnie (vs Georgia Tech, 2020), Xavier Johnson (at Clemson, 2019) and Trey McGowens (vs Florida State, 2019). The Panthers record is 33 points scored by McGowens against Louisville in 2019.
"Beebah has been confident since the first day I saw him," Capel said. "He's a really, really confident kid and the confidence comes I think because of the work. He's a gym rat. He's one of the most low maintenance guys that I've coached. He's an unbelievable teammate and he's a sponge. He wants to learn and wants to be really good."
Brandin also had his brother, Nelly, working as a color analyst with Jason Earle on the ACC Network Extra broadcast.
"To have him there, it was a great feeling," Cummings said. "To also have my family there supporting me. It's something that I always dreamed of as a kid. I always wanted to come to this school, play in this arena. It made me feel really at home to know that I had my brother over there, doing what he was doing and my family supporting me."
Notes
· Zach Austin finished with a season-high 18 points and Capel credited his defense on EKU leading scorer Devontae Blanton holding him to 11 points on 5 of 17 shooting.
· Jalen Lowe had foul trouble early, finished with 11 points and 12 assists
· Ishmael Leggett finished with 17 points and six rebounds
· 12th straight win at the Petersen Events Center on the first home game in 22 days
Up Next
It's finals week for the Panthers with the next game not until Saturday, December 21 against Sam Houston at 1p.
That is the final non-conference game of the season with ACC play resuming hosting Cal on New Years' Day at 2p.
