PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Minus their leading scorer and leaders in assists along with another key senior guard, a couple of freshmen grew up for Pitt in a 74-65 win over Miami Saturday afternoon.
“I kind of told the guys before the game whatever it takes is what we got to do,” said senior Ish Leggett. “We got two guys down, do it for yourself and most importantly do it for your brothers who are down.”
Guards Amsal Delalic and Brandin Cummings got on the court due to injuries to Jaland Lowe (concussion) and Damian Dunn (elbow) and then earned their minutes. Delalic finished with a career-high 14 points in 28 minutes while Cummings had 11 points and four assists playing 33 minutes.
Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said Delalic has done some good things in practice, but he didn’t see this type of impact coming.
“I thought today was the best he’s played in a while,” Capel said. “I don’t know if that was because he knew he was going to play and knew there was opportunity. I don’t know. There is nothing where he was being held back or anything like that. He just played better today.”
“He was terrific. I didn’t feel like we could take him out because of how he was playing.”
“I knew we were in the situation we were,” Delalic said. “We lost the last four games and we had to make an impact. I just knew that I had to step up and that’s what I did.”
Capel said it’s a testament to Delalic’s maturity that he continued to show up and work hard at practice even without the court time. The freshman from Bosnia & Herzegovina was injured to start the season causing him not only to miss games, but practices. The three at the buzzer by the 6’8” guard gave the Panthers the lead at halftime after trailing much of the first half. They wouldn’t trail again.
Cummings has played in all but one game including one of the top scoring games ever by a Panthers freshman with 30 points against Eastern Kentucky, however he was averaging three points a game in ACC play before dropping a dozen against SMU.
Capel said he loved everything that Cummings did today, even the battle he showed that led to a technical foul. He also credited Cummings for being stuck against Miami leading scorer Matthew Cleveland on a switch late in the game that led to a stop.
Ish Leggett had his first 20-point game since January 4 going 6-11 from the floor, 2-2 from three and 7-7 from the foul line for 21 points and 10 rebounds playing all but one minutes.
“Ish was incredible, on both sides of the floor,” Capel said. “To have a double-double, but to put the ball in his hands and for him to step in and make plays and play with poise.”
Zach Austin played in all but two minutes finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds (four offensive), his first double-double of the season and 12th of his career.
“I don’t think Zack’s stat sheet reflects anywhere close to how well he played and that’s hard because he had a double-double,” Capel said. “Cleveland, the last five games, was averaging 26 points a game and he had eight. He was 4-16. When we took Zack out in the first half, Cleveland scored three straight buckets. I thought his defense on Cleveland was huge for us.”
Center Cam Corhen had 17 points for the second time in three games on 7-15 shooting with eight rebounds.
The win broke a four-game losing streak for the 15-10, 6-8 ACC Panthers.
“We played kinda on fire, like our back was against the wall,” Leggett said. “That translates. It makes you want to be a part of what we got going on. We got to get addicted to this feeling.”
“I’m really proud of these guys and happy for these guys to have something positive happen,” Capel said. “The most important thing is we made something positive happen.”
It’s about practice
Capel said what we saw really started in practice on Thursday, the first work since the loss at SMU.
“Loved the spirit that we had, the connectivity and the attention to detail,” Capel said.
Capel believes these practices and their energy lead to everyone having each other’s back. They also held each other and themselves accountable and he hopes it is indeed something they build on.
Notes
· Pitt controlled the offensive glass and overall rebounding for one of the few times during conference play, 14 offensive rebounds, +7 total rebounds
· Panthers dominated points in the paint 34-20
· Pitt also won second chance points 17-6
· Teams combined for 19 turnovers, Pitt was a + 6 in points off of those turnovers.
· Pitt had 15 assists on 25 made field goals
· After shooting 6-15 from three in the first half, Panthers held Miami to 2-11 in the second half
Dunn done, Lowe probable
Capel said after the game that senior guard Damian Dunn (9.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists) won’t play again this season. The Pitt head coach did say he expects Jaland Lowe to be able to play Tuesday. Lowe has been able to do the non-contact drills in practice and has had no issues with anything. He will be evaluated again on Sunday.
Up Next
Rivalry game against Syracuse at home Tuesday at 7p with Panthers pregame with the Voice of the Panthers Bill Hillgrove, Pitt great Curtis Aiken and Cale Berger starting at 6:30p on 93.7 The Fan.