PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pitt men’s basketball turned up the defense in the second half and won its only exhibition game Tuesday night beating Point Park University 93-62 Tuesday at the Petersen Events Center.
Point Park shot 49% in the first half, but held the Pioneers to 28% in the second.
“I just thought defensively in the second half we were better,” said Pitt head coach Jeff Capel. “I thought in the first half, look, we were nervous. I think we had some jitters. It was the first time with this group in front of people.”
“We focused a lot more on defense,” said senior guard Ishmael Leggett. “Coach said in the locker room our defense is our best offense. As soon as we started getting stops, that’s when things started to click. It all started on defense.”
Leggett led all scorers with 24 points on eight of nine shooting, three of three on three-point field goals. Leggett also had nine rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Jaland Lowe finished with 22 points and four steals.
For Capel, an opportunity to see how his team reacts in a game setting with fans, facing a different team with refs and keeping score. They treated everything like a game to prepare the team.
“You just want to see who you are when the lights come on,” Capel said. “When someone else that’s not a familiar face that you’ve been playing against since July. How do you react to that? All of the things that you tried to work on in practice, are we doing those things.”
There are some areas where Capel wants to see improvement-closing out, transition defense, finishing plays chief among them. The Panthers will hold a scrimmage this weekend before starting the season a week from Monday.
“I really like this group,” Leggett said. “I feel like we are connected. We can be really good on both ends of the floor. We looked good, but we can be much better.”
First timers
Cam Corhen-F
7-12 FG, 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals
Damian Dunn-G
3-7 FG, 6 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists
Papa Amadou Kante-F
1-3 FG, 1-1 3-pointers, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 2 blocks
Brandin Cummings-G
3-8 FG, 1-2 3-pointers, 8 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover
Season tip off
Panthers open the regular season on Monday, November 4 hosting Radford at 7p on 93.7 The Fan. The first five games are at home including West Virginia at 8p on Friday, November 15.