Pitt Pulls Away Late in Win vs. Longwood

PITTSBURGH - It may have taken 12 3-pointers, but the Pitt Panthers rebounded from a sloppy first half to beat the Longwood Racers, 78-60, tonight at the Petersen Events Center.

Demarco Minor and Brandin Cummings combined for 42 points (nine 3-pointers) to overcome a sluggish offensive performance by the team as a whole. The win, no matter how shaky at times, improves the Panthers to 2-0 (0-0 ACC) on the young season.

Both Teams Struggle in the First Frame

It's hard to say the first half was anything but a slog.

The kids came out somewhat cold against Youngstown State, but the first six points of the night came on 3-pointers by Omari Witherspoon and Roman Siulepa. However, the pair went on to miss their next four shots combined - a theme across the board in the first half.

Nojus Indrusaitis entered the game as the first Pitt sub, in between a pair of Longwood free throws that gave the Lancers an early lead, and at the first media timeout, that lead held firm. It wasn't turnovers that hurt the Panthers early, though, it was questionable shot selection from the outside.

But even Indrusaitis couldn't spark the Panthers, missing a trio of free throws and air balling his first field goal attempt.

The lack of offense, no field goals for well over a stretch of five minutes at the under-12 media timeout, was compounded by turnovers on the offensive end and the Lancers out-rebounding the Panthers.

Cummings connected on a 3-pointer from the logo as the shot clock expired to end the streak, and slowly, shots started to fall. Very slowly. Yet, Longwood hung around, like Youngstown State did in the opener. Neither team shot well, but the Lancers generated second chances on the offensive glass and forced turnovers.

A 21-21 game at the under-4 timeout turned into a 33-28 halftime lead, fueled by a pair of 3-pointers from Cummings and Minor. A sloppy half of basketball came to a merciful end.

Pitt Bounces Back in Second Half

It was more of the same to begin the second half. Pitt was sloppy, turning the ball over and settling for shots on the perimeter, and the Lancers tied it up at 33 before a Minor 3-pointer got the Panthers on the board. But continued turnovers allowed Longwood to take an early 37-36 second half lead.

Minor remained hot from 3-point range, though, hitting a trey before the under-16 timeout to re-take the lead, and Cummings and Indrusaitis connected on a pair of 3-pointers to stretch the Panthers' lead to 47-42.

Longwood hung around through the under-12 timeout, but some strong minutes out of Papa Amadou Kante helped stretch the Panthers' advantage - with the Panthers' size inside beginning to play a factor.

Pitt led 55-44 at the halfway mark following a strong drive from Indrusaitis. Yet the Panthers just kept giving the Lancers a chance to stay in the game, whether it was through giveaways or stagnant offensive sets leading to bad shots.

The Panthers shot well from 3-point range all night, though. Cummings drilled a turn-around jumper from the top of the arc to make it an 11-point game with just under six to go.

A pair of Cummings' free throws after drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt and another 3-pointer following the under-4 timeout iced the game for the Panthers.

What's Up Next?

Pitt will host Eastern Michigan at the Petersen Events Center on Nov. 10 before hitting the road for the first time next in the middle of next week. The Panthers will travel to the HOPE Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. to take on the WVU Mountaineers in another edition of the Backyard Brawl.

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