Pitt
12-2,3-0ACC
Stanford
9-5,1-2ACC
Leggett Powers Panthers to 83-68 Win Over Stanford
1/4/2025 10:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – Ishmael Leggett returned from injury to score a team-high 21 points as Pitt shook off a slow start before cruising to an 83-68 win over Stanford Saturday evening at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers trailed by nine midway through the opening half before dominating the next 20 minutes of the game en route to their 15th consecutive home win.
Pitt outscored Stanford, 46-18, from the 10:07 mark in the first half to the 10:50 mark of the second half to blow open the game as it improved to 12-2 overall and 3-0 in the ACC.
Jaland Lowe added 16 points, five assists, and four steals, while Guillermo Diaz Graham had another strong outing with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots. Zack Austin also scored in the double figures finishing with 11 points in the win.
Stanford used a 9-0 run to grab a 13-7 lead as Pitt went through a nearly four minutes scoring drought. The Cardinal extended the lead to 22-13 with 9:51 left in the half as Maxime Raynaud made his first five shots from the field and the team shot 60 percent (9-of-15) from the field in the opening 10 minutes of action.
Austin buried a wing three off good ball rotation to trim the deficit to 24-18 and ignite the Pitt rally. Leggett added a three-point play following a free throw by the Cardinal and the Panthers forced a turnover on the ensuing possession. Jorge Diaz Graham drilled a wing three to force a Stanford timeout with 6:11 remaining and Leggett dug out a tough rebound before working his way into the lane for another pullup and a 26-25 Pitt lead.
Raynaud answered back with a deep three late in the shot clock but Leggett again hit a leaner in the lane for Pitt's sixth consecutive made field goal and a 28-28 spot on the scoreboard heading into the final media timeout of the half.
Pitt made its final four shots of the half and closed the opening 20 minutes on a 12-2 run to carry a 38-30 lead into the break. Jorge Diaz Graham hit a corner three off a cross court feed from his brother and Lowe hit from deep with four seconds remaining to cap the Panther run.
Leggett tallied 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting (6-of-6 on two-point attempts) and Jorge Diaz Graham went 2-of-2 from three to spark the Pitt attack.
The Panthers came out of the break on fire with buckets from Leggett, Austin, and Guillermo Diaz Graham to extend the lead to 44-30 and force a Stanford timeout with 17:56 remaining. Guillermo Diaz Graham hit his second three of the night to give the Panthers a 49-32 lead heading into the first media timeout of the second half.
Pitt continued to pour it on and grabbed a 20+ lead on a tip dunk by Guillermo Diaz Graham with 13:18 remaining. Stanford chipped away to a 15-point deficit (59-44) on a pair of free throws from Chisom Okpara with 8:28 remaining as Pitt went through a 2:43 scoring drought, before Austin ended the dry spell with a reverse tip dunk to ignite the crowd and send the Panthers into the under eight media timeout with a 61-44 advantage.
Austin converted a pair of free throw to push the Pitt lead to 72-51 with 5:15 remaining and Pitt reserves came on to grind out the victory. Stanford hit three three-pointers in the final three minutes of action but could get no closer than the final margin of 15.
Raynaud led Stanford with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Okpara came off the bench to score 14 points. The Cardinal slip to 9-5 on the season and 1-3 in the ACC.
LEGGETT BACK
Leggett returned to the lineup after missing the California game with an ankle injury to deliver another outstanding performance for the Panthers. He finished with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting for his 11th game with 15 or more points and his fifth 20+ point effort of the season. Leggett made all nine of his two-point field goal attempts with an array of pullups in the lane and finishes at the rim.
TURNING IT AROUND AFTER 10
Pitt outscored Stanford 25-8 over the final 10 minutes of the opening half as the Panthers rebounded from a slow start from the field (6-of-15). Pitt went 10-of-14 (.714) from the field with four three-point field goals in the second part of the first half. The Panthers also turned up the defense to hold Stanford to 2-of-12 (.167) shooting from the field over the final 10:06 of action in the first half.
ZA JOINS ELITE GROUP
Austin recorded his 200th career block in the win to become just the third player in NCAA history to accumulate at least 1,200 points, 600 rebounds, 175 three-point field goals, and 200 blocks in a career.
EFFICIENT FROM THE FIELD
Pitt shot 56.4 percent (31-of-55) from the field for its fourth consecutive game shooting 50 percent or better from the field. The Panthers were a red-hot 24-of-36 (.667) on their two-point attempts in the game.
BRINGING THE DEFENSE
Pitt held the Cardinal to 35.3 percent (18-of-51) shooting from the field, including a 9-of-36 (.250) effort over the final 30 minutes of action. The Panthers also finished with eight steals and seven blocks.
OWNING THE PAINT
Pitt delivered a dominating performance on the interior with a 40-10 advantage in points in the paint and a 34-23 rebounding advantage. The 30-point margin on interior scoring was the second largest of the season for the Panthers.
UP NEXT
Pitt travels to Durham, N.C. to face fourth-ranked Duke Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Cameron Indoor Stadium (7 p.m. – ESPN).
