PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pitt found out 90 minutes before the game they would be without starting guard Ishmael Leggett. They were still without starter Damian Dunn. Then they got down 16 points in the first half and yet rallied on all fronts to beat Cal 86-74 New Years Day at the Petersen Events Center.
"I'm really, really proud of our team," said Pitt head coach Jeff Capel. "This was a gutsy win facing adversity."
Down big early, Pitt (11-2, 2-0 ACC) started chipping away, but the refs called a double technical foul called on Pitt's Zach Austin and Cal's DJ Campbell and added a call on Capel. After the Bears made one of the two free throws, the Panthers would score the last five points to cut the halftime lead to four.
Capel said he didn't intentionally try to fire up his team getting a technical, but if it did, he's fine with it.
"Coach getting a little tech helped us get fired up even more," said Pitt guard Jaland Lowe. "The crowd really helped us get into it and we appreciate the crowd for it. They help a lot. They give us a lot of energy."
Lowe was huge again having to shoulder the load after a pair of senior guards couldn't play. The sophomore finished a point from a career-high with 27 including 8-8 from the foul line and eight assists.
"He's a good player, period," Capel said. "I think Jaland is as good a guard as there is in college basketball. With good players, you just want to put them in positions where they can make plays and make reads."
"At the end we wanted to put the ball in Jaland's hands and let him make plays and he was able to do that."
"I just needed to do what the team needed me to do and that's what it was," Lowe said.
Freshman Beebah Cummings had a third straight game in double figures, dropping 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting.
"I thought Beebah was really good today," Lowe said. "He handled the ball at tough times, made a lot of big plays. That's what we expect from him right now. Don't care if he's a freshman or not, we expect him to do that. He holds himself to that expectation. We trust in him."
Forward Cam Corhen had his second career double-double with the Panthers with 19 points and 11 rebounds and first of the season in ACC play.
"He was able to take advantage of the attention on Jaland and finish some plays," Capel said. "It was really good seeing him do that."
"We are a bunch of fighters and we don't quit," Lowe said of his team. "We are going to band together every day. One guy gets hurt, another guy steps up. That's all it is. We know we can trust our brothers."
Leggett injury
Capel said Leggett got hurt Saturday in practice as he stepped on Lowe's foot and rolled his ankle. He didn't practice Monday or Tuesday, but Capel said there was a chance he could still play. Leggett worked out around noon on Wednesday. He had mobility straight ahead, but had issues moving laterally and decided to sit him. They are not sure if he will be available on Saturday.
Next up
It's game 3 of ACC play with the other California conference member. The Panthers host Stanford Saturday at 6:30p. Pitt pregame starts at 6p with the Voice of the Panthers Bill Hillgrove, Panthers great Curtis Aiken and Cale Berger.
