PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Remember when Pitt basketball was fun? It’s fun again. The Panthers improve to 4-0 in the ACC with a comeback win against 11th ranked Virginia, 68-65 late Tuesday night.
It’s two straight Top 25 wins after beating North Carolina this past Friday.
“I’m grateful of where we are, mainly of how this team has come together,” said Pitt Head Coach Jeff Capel. “It been really cool to watch it and watch their belief in each other. To watch them to be selfless with each other and to give to each other. It’s been really cool to see.”
“They just play for each other. They like each other. There is no jealousy, they don’t point the fingers. We want to maintain that for as long as we can.”
When you get down double-digits to a Virginia program that prides itself on defense, it’s normally a long night.
Pitt fought back from trailing the entire first half and down a dozen with 16 minutes to play went on a 14-0 run to take the lead on a Blake Hinson layup at 10:41 in the second half.
It would go back and forth for awhile until Pitt took a five-point with four minutes to play. Virginia would go on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 60 with 1:30 to play. Pitt would miss a dunk and a potential offensive put-back as Federiko Federiko grabbed the rebound, but came down on Jamarius Burton’s foot and the ball fell out-of-bounds.
Panthers continued to play defense and a perfect feed from Nelly Cummings to Federiko gave the Panthers the lead 62-60 with :59 seconds to go. Defense again for the Panthers as they forced Virginia into a shot clock violation, by a half-second. Pitt hit free throws for the final margin.
“You have to beat them, because they don’t beat themselves,” Capel said. “You have to be tough for 40 minutes, you have to be together and you have to fight. I thought we did it the whole game, it didn’t show at times in the first half. Once we got into the rhythm on the game in the second half, we were able to do some really, really good things.”
“Everyone on our team stepped up.”
“Happy for Jeff, he’s a good man and a good coach,” said Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett, adding the Panthers are a physically tough team. “He coaches the right way. He’s got a good tough team. They do things the right way. He’s off to a good start, for his sake I hope he keeps up with it.”
“We got a very special group of guys that know how to put the battery in each other’s back and play with each other,” Sibande said. “We all believe in each other and we all talk to each other and we talk to each other like we are all the best players.”
Notes
· Nike Sibande was again a spark off the bench with 16 points and six rebounds. He also played some solid defense and had a crowd-raising dunk in the second half.
· Nelly Cummings finished with eight assists and no turnovers. Capel said he’s all about winning and does whatever he can do to help them win. “There is no special recipe, I just wanted to make the right play in front of me,” Cummings said.
· Pitt shot 52% in the second half against the best defense in the ACC and 11th best nationally. UVA had given up 58.3 points per game.
· It’s Pitt’s first 4-0 start in the ACC since their first season in 2013-14.
· Virginia had won 12 straight against Pitt.
· Pitt had no turnovers in the second half. “I’m not sure I’ve seen it since I’ve been in this league,” Capel said of doing that against the Cavaliers. “Our guys did a really, really good job in the second half of being strong with the basketball and making big plays.”
· Capel credited changing up defenses in forcing 11 Virginia turnovers including five by Kihei Clark (who in the last four games had 29 assists to seven turnovers).
· Federiko Federiko was 4-6 FG, eight points, 11 rebounds and two assists
· After carrying Pitt in the win vs. North Carolina, Jamarius Burton had 15 points and four rebounds with one turnover in 38 minutes.
· Blake Hinson tied with a team-high 16 points. “Blake has convenient amnesia, which is a really good thing for a good scorer,” Capel said. “For me, I have to be careful because at times he doesn’t take great shots. I have to be ok with that because there are other times where he makes shots that make us look good as coaches.”
Damar support
The entire Pitt team wore shirts during warmups and postgame saying ‘Chasing Millions’ which is tied to Damar Hamlin’s charity.
“We wanted to wear them to support Damar,” Sibande said, adding Hamlin is a selfless guy that really cares about people. “We all know the situation that he is going through. We all have our hands together for him. We definitely wanted to show our support and love for him.”
“Obviously everybody saw last night what happened with Damar Hamlin,” Capel said. “These guys know him, guys on our team. He’s part of our community. I got to know him. Unbelievable young man, great spirit. Every time I saw him he was in a good mood. Unbelievable personality, so our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. We know he’s a fighter and he will continue to fight.”
Related
“Everyone stay prayed up.”
Guest support
Currently playing in the G-League for the Toronto Raptors team, Pitt All-ACC forward Justin Champagnie attended the game. Not sitting in a private box or even courtside, but in the section next to the Oakland Zoo. Champagnie took pictures with fans and signaled a message of love for Damar Hamlin.
Up Next
Panthers host Clemson, currently 3-0 in the ACC and 11-3 overall Saturday afternoon at 4p.