Pitt
8-3,0-1ACC
South Carolina State
3-9,0-0MEAC
Panthers Rout South Carolina State, 86-50
12/16/2023 5:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – Forward Blake Hinson led a balance scoring attack and Ishmael Leggett filled up the stat sheet to lead Pitt to an 86-50 win over South Carolina State Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center. Hinson knocked down three three-pointers and finished with a game-high 19 points, while Leggett had 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks as the Panthers improved to 8-3 on the season.
Pitt shot 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the field in the second half and had multiple double-figure scoring runs to blow open the game en route to its fifth 20+ point win of the season. The Panthers received a big second half lift from the post tandem of Zack Austin and Federiko Federiko, coming off the bench for the first time this season and combining for 18 points and 10 rebounds in the second half of play.
Pitt used a 15-2 run over the final 5:36 of the opening half to jump out to 36-20 halftime lead. Hinson started the run with a deep three at the 5:36 mark and capped it off with a breakaway dunk with six seconds remaining.
The Panthers held South Carolina State to just 8-of-31 (.258) shooting from the field, while also forcing 11 turnovers in the first half. The Bulldogs stayed connected for much of the first half in large part by a 24-17 rebounding edge that included 10 offensive boards.
Hinson tallied 14 first half points to reach double-figures for the 11th consecutive game. He was 5-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-3 from long range. Leggett filled the stat sheet in the opening 20 minutes with nine points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal, and a blocked shot.
Hinson drilled his third three of the game off an offensive rebound tip-out by Guillermo Diaz Grahamto cap a 10-0 run and push the Pitt lead to 44-24 early in the second half. Pitt added another 10-0 run to extend the lead to 60-33 with Jaland Lowe, Federiko, and Austin sparking the action with energy and effort on both ends of the floor. Lowe found Federiko in the lane for a lob dunk and assisted on a Jorge Diaz Graham three-pointer to start the run before hitting a three of his own off an offensive rebound by Federiko. Austin closed out the run with an alley-oop dunk off a Lowe feed to give the Panthers a 60-33 advantage with 9:12 remaining.
The margin never slipped below 24 points the rest of the way and Michael Hueitt, Jr., scored eight points during a 14-0 run following the under four media timeout to give Pitt an 84-46 lead with just under two minutes remaining.
Atiba Taylor led the Bulldogs with 14 points in the game as the visitors were held to just 28.1 percent (16-of-57) shooting from the field, including a 4-of-22 (.182) effort from three-point range.
SPECIAL IN THE SPECIALTY STATS
The Panthers dominated the specialty stats in the game with large margins in points in the paint (44-16), points off turnovers (26-7), fast break points (25-7), and second chance points (17-6). Pitt also had 38 bench points with Austin leading the way with 12.
SHARING IS CARING
Pitt recorded 23 assists in the game with Lowe (6), Leggett (5), Guillermo Diaz Graham (4), and Jorge Diaz Graham (3) matching or setting season highs in that category.
COUNTING STOCKS (Steals + Blocks)
The Panthers had a season-high 13 steals and added eight blocks during a strong defensive effort. Leggett had a game-high three steals with Hinson and Federiko each recording two thefts, while Gullermo Diaz Graham posted three blocked shots. Leggett and Austin each had a pair of blocks as well. Pitt also forced a season-high 18 turnovers in the win.
REBOUNDING REBOUND
Pitt entered the half trailing 24-17 on the backboards, including a 10-4 deficit on the offensive glass. The Panthers flipped the script over the final 20 minutes of play to secure a 40-36 rebounding advantage for the game. Pitt held the Bulldogs to just one offensive board over the first 19 minutes of the half before South Carolina State was credited with four offensive rebounds during an offensive scrum on the final possession of the game.
MORE FROM BLAKE FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Hinson went 3-of-4 from three-point range for his 10th consecutive game with three or more three-point field goals. The Deltona, Fla., native entered the contest leading the NCAA in three-pointers per game and is now 45-of-94 (.479) from beyond the arc on the season.
UP NEXT
Pitt closes out non-conference Wednesday, Dec. 20 against Purdue Fort Wayne (7 p.m. – ACC Network Extra).
