PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Citadel got great shooting early and rode it to a 78-63 win at Pitt Tuesday night in the opening of the 2021-22 season.
"They got off to such a hot start, in the first eight minutes they had 27 points," said Pitt head coach Jeff Capel. "With how hard they ran their stuff, how they moved and cut. I thought it knocked us back. We could never really recover in the game from the first onslaught of them outhustling us."
Bulldogs returned three starters including Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year Hayden Brown, but it was a freshman who really starred out. Playing his first game in college, 6'5" guard Jason Roche played scored 27 points on 8 of 14 shooting from three.
"The way they are disciplined and setting screens," said Pitt guard Femi Odukale. "Everyone was playing together on that team. One through 15 they had a lot of energy, once you have energy and confidence as a team. That's what happens."
Brown finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
For the game, The Citadel shot 13 of 36 from 3. It's the Bulldogs first win over a Power 5 team since 1989.
"We fell short to that," said guard Femi Okudale. "A lot has been going on this week and we just have to bounce back. We see what we have to do from this game on."
Just 2 guys
Almost all of Pitt's scoring Tuesday night came from two players. Sophomore center John Hugley dropped a career-high 27 points, adding 10 rebounds.
"I feel like my teammates needed me to do more, so I did more," Hugley said. "Obviously, it wasn't enough to get the win, but we will be better."
"It was good to see John put the ball in the basket and play through contact," Capel said. "He has to be better in other areas of the game. His impact can be significant for us, but he has to be able to do it for every second that he's out there and every second in practice."
Sophomore point guard Femi Odukale finished with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists.
The rest of the team combined for 16 points, eight assists and shooting 5-26 on field goals, including 1-16 on three-point field goals.
"We need everyone to do their role," Capel said. "If you get shots to be able to knock them down with confidence. Have confidence, play through contact, don't avoid contact. If you get fouled, step to the line and make some shots. We need everyone to be able to do it."
Sorely missed
Pitt had to play without three of its key guards-Nike Sibande (lost for the year with a torn ACL in the exhibition game), Ithiel Horton (suspended indefinitely) and Jamarius Burton (knee surgery, may return later this month).
"It's an adjustment, but we have to be better," Capel said of not having his trio in there. "We had some guys playing a lot of minutes in different roles that we didn't practice. Again, we have to be better."
"It's tough losing two of our best players," Hugley said. "Like my high school coach said, it's next man up. We got to keep stacking bricks."
Up Next
Pitt plays at West Virginia at 8:30p Friday for the Backyard Brawl. Mountaineers have won the last four in the series and beat Oakland by six on Tuesday.
"We just want to bounce back," Odukale said. "We want to prove everybody wrong."
