Panthers use another rally to get control
Lethargic first half disappears after break
It’s not just a coincidence anymore.
Pitt men’s basketball has a pattern of a team that plays sloppily in the first half with poor mistakes, communication and effort. But then the Panthers rally with spirited and coordinated play in the second half. That’s what helped the Panthers beat Alabama State and Fairleigh Dickinson, and it got the Panthers their 80-64 win against William and Mary at Petersen Events Center on Friday night.
In the first half, the Panthers looked lifeless on defense. If it weren’t for a decent shooting performance of 45% from the field,
including 5 of 11 on 3-pointers to spark a 33-point opening 20 minutes, Pitt would’ve been in a lot worse of a state than a four-point deficit at halftime.
But that couldn’t mask the obvious problems to Pitt’s effort. William and Mary (3-4) scored 37 points in the half and owned under the basket with a 24-8 advantage in points in the paint. Forward Ben Wight had 13 points and seven rebounds and looked like a much better inside presence than John Hugley IV, who consistently was beaten for easy points and helped the Griffins manage 10 offensive rebounds.
It wasn’t just Hugley either, as William and Mary used solid passing off backdoor cuts and screens to find open players who made uncontested shots. They looked like the more coordinated team who wanted it more in the arena of an ACC program.
And then the Panthers (43) came out of the locker room at halftime.
Pitt went on a 14-3 run early in the second half that gave the Panthers an 8-point advantage and never looked back.
It was fueled by strong performances from Hugley, Blake Hinson, Jamarius Burton, and especially Nike Sibande off the bench.
Hinson led the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 3:55 left in the game. Hugley finished 16 points and four assists to go along with his seven rebounds as he got the best of Wight in the second half. Burton had an impressive shooting performance with 16 points, shooting 60% from the field and hitting three of five 3-pointers.
But Sibande gave an impressive charge to the Panthers on both ends of the court. He finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and team highs of four assists and two steals while adding a block. His defensive showing sparked more consistent stops to drop William and Mary’s 45.7% first half shooting rate to just 36% in the second half.
The Panthers displayed poise on defense in the second half, just like they did in the previous two wins that were also accompanied by poor first half showings. It’s helped Pitt raise its record to 4-3 before its Monday night showdown with Northwestern, but it’s also a theme that has to get fixed soon.
Pitt cannot depend on just winning out with talent in the second half and must start putting together complete performances before the bulk of its ACC games run the schedule after it plays Syracuse on Dec. 20. For now, the Panthers have shown to be a resilient group against smaller programs. But they have to show they can beat other power five conference programs soon.