PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was a 17-3 run at the end of the first half and then a 12-2 run early in the second half that sparked Pitt to a 96-56 win over Radford Monday. It improves the Panthers to 18-2 in season openers at the Petersen Events Center.
“I thought we did some really good things,” said Pitt head coach Jeff Capel. “The first 14-15 minutes of the game we were anxious and it showed. I thought the last five minutes of the first half we really settled in and started passing.”
Panthers finished with 18 assists to eight turnovers and had 11 steals. Six different Panthers finished in double figures, seven different Panthers hit at least one three-pointer. Pitt shot 55% from the floor to 31% for Radford, a plus 11 in turnovers, plus 23 in fast break points, plus 34 in points in the paint.
Double-double
He’s been a stat-filler his entire career, senior guard Ishmael Leggett started the season with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double.
“Competitive, talented, low-maintenance, worker, believer,” Capel said of Leggett’s attributes. “Since he’s been here, he’s been locked in. We wouldn’t have been the team last year that we were if it wasn’t for him not just accepting a role, but staring in a role.”
“It’s why he will be terrific this year because he embodies all of those things.”
Guillermo Diaz-Graham came within a rebound finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes.
“He’s a good player,” Capel said. “He can stretch the defense, even at the four. We feel like if they switch we’ve really tried to work with him on posting slower guards. Guillermo is a talented kid and we are going to continue to work with him to get better.”
New kid
The surname isn’t new to Pitt basketball, but the first name is. Brandin ‘Beebah’ Cummings, brother of Nelly who was a part of the NCAA Tournament team two years ago, made his college debut. The guard finished with 11 points on 4-7 field goals and three assists.
“Fearless, honestly,” Leggett said. “We know he’s a dawg. Whoever is in front of him on the offensive or defensive side, he is going to take that matchup personally. He did exactly that tonight.”
“He can really score,” Capel said. “He’s not afraid. I think that’s where he’s from. Where he grew up. Who he was around. Having an older brother who is a really good player and a really competitive guy.”
“He’s a guy that’s really quiet off the court, unbelievably low maintenance, really, really smart, but when he crosses those lines he’s the manic, competitive guy. We need that. We need to continue to be that for us.”
Starting 5 (2 seniors, 2 juniors, sophomore)
· Sophomore guard Jaland Lowe-came on during ACC play to be a valuable part of a 22-win team
· Senior guard Ishmael Leggett-averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in his first season at Pitt last year
· Senior guard Damian Dunn-played 109 career games with Temple, then Houston
· Junior forward Guillermo Diaz-Graham-played in all 33 games last year, started seven
· Junior forward Cameron Corhen-transfer from Florida State, shot 63% FG in 28 games in 2023-24
Season Firsts
· Basket--Leggett up and under on Pitt’s first possession
· Rebound--Leggett on the first Radford possession
· Steal-Corhen on Brandon Maclin
· Block--Guillermo Diaz-Graham against Highlanders Josiah Harris
· Assist--Guillermo Diaz-Graham to Corhen
· Foul--Dunn on Harris
· 3-pointer--Zack Austin
· Local scoring—freshman Brandin Cummings with a reverse layup
· Substitution—Austin was the sixth man
· Free throw--Lowe at 9:21 of the first half
· Dunk--Corhen at 8:45 of the first half
· Double figure points--Lowe after layup with 6:13 left in 1st half
· Alley-oop—Lowe to Guillermo Diaz-Graham
· Follow-up slam—Leggett after a miss by Cummings on the weak side
· Substantial run—17-3 over last 6:02 of first half
Former WVU visit
“I wasn’t excited about it.”
What Radford head coach Darris Nichols said about returning to the Petersen Events Center. The former West Virginia guard was 4-5 in his career against the Panthers from 2004-08.
The last time he was in here was when Ronald Ramon hit a three-pointer at the buzzer as Pitt beat WVU on February 7, 2008.
“I remembered that locker room when I walked in there,” Nichols said. “I just remember Hugs (head coach Bob Huggins) going crazy on us because we didn’t switch everything. We were supposed to switch everything.”
“I remember the battles with Pitt. Whoever was the home team won. They had really good teams. We had really good teams. Their fans and the students do a really good job of making it a hard place to play.”