Pitt rallies in second half to defeat William & Mary, 80-64
Share this post:
Pitt hasn’t played enough games against premium competition to allow coach Jeff Capel to get an accurate read on his team. On Friday night, however, there was reason to be encouraged — at least for half a game.
The Panthers rallied in the second half to defeat William & Mary, 80-64, before an announced crowd of 5,649 at Petersen Events Center. It was Pitt’s third consecutive victory and fourth in seven games, setting the average margin of victory just short of 20 points.
The Panthers trailed at halftime, 37-33, nearly matching what happened Sunday when Pitt was down to Alabama State, 34-31, before winning by 19.
William & Mary shot 45.7% from the field in the first half while moving well without the basketball, repeatedly beating Pitt defenders with slick backdoor cuts.
“I thought the first half was one of the best halves we played all year on both sides of the ball,” William & Mary coach Dane Fischer said.
Capel made some specific adjustments at halftime, and Pitt’s four-point deficit became an 11-point advantage within eight minutes after halftime.
“We were able to string together some stops,” Capel said. “Our antenna was up a little bit more. We didn’t get beat on those cuts. I thought our ball pressure was a little bit better. Our ball screen coverage was better. We were going for shot fakes on non-shooters.
“Our rotations were better. It allowed us to get out in transition. We were able to establish John (Hugley) inside in the second half.”
Given a break at intermission, Capel was able to fix the problems, but his greater quest is to stop it from happening in the first place.
“I wish I could tell you (what went wrong). I really do. It’s frustrating. It is,” he said.
“I know that as we move forward, the competition increases on Monday. If you dig yourself a hole against these next three (teams) that we’re going to play, it’s going to be very difficult to get out of it.”
Starting Monday at Northwestern, Pitt will take a tour around the power conferences with three games – all on the road. The ACC opener is next Friday at N.C. State, and Vanderbilt will be the opponent Dec. 7.
“These next three games we’ll learn about where we are right now,” Capel said. “It will be an unbelievable opportunity for us and we’re excited about it.”
Pitt’s coach was pleased with his players’ resiliency.
While the defense improved in the second half, Pitt hit enough shots to reach 80 points for the third time this season. Pitt never hit that total in any of its 32 games last season.
Capel has given his players freedom to shoot, and three of them – Blake Hinson, Jamarius Burton and Hugley — are converting at a collective 53.9% rate (90 of 167) for the season.
Hinson led Pitt with 17 points and 11 rebounds Friday, followed by Hugley (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and Burton (16 points, with three 3-pointers).
Hinson said the second-half rally can be traced to “more energy and more concentration.”
“Me personally, I had two mistakes in the first half. It simply came from less focus, less talk.”
Capel is waiting for his team to take its game to another level.
He pointed out three other players who have shown scoring ability in the past – Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott and Nate Santos – who are shooting a collective 32.6% (45 of 138).
Meanwhile, Nike Sibande has been able to come off the bench and give the team a spark. After scoring 17 against Alabama State, he contributed 15 Friday, with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“It felt good to help my team and help find people and put people in position to be effective,” said Sibande, who missed last season with a knee injury.
After he transferred from Miami (Ohio) and the NCAA was slow to declare him eligible for the 2020-2021 season, he tore an ACL in his knee in an exhibition at the start of ‘21-’22.
“I thought he was dealt a bad hand when he got here,” Capel said. “I thought he was really poised to have a big year last year, but he got hurt.
“Just to see the resiliency, the every-day positive attitude, coming in working, he’s just a really good young man, and he’s growing up and becoming a man.
“One of the things he’s learning, life isn’t fair. Stuff happens. It’s how you respond to it. That’s a lesson I hope all these guys learn.”