Pitt men recover from slow start, pound Alabama State
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Not unlike most teams playing power conference basketball, Pitt’s roster has plenty of players who can run, jump, pass and shoot at a high level.
The trick that good teams master is combining the mental with the physical.
That’s what Pitt coach Jeff Capel and his players confronted Sunday afternoon, and they overcame what he described as “fragile confidence” and a slow start to defeat Alabama State, 73-54, at Petersen Events Center.
Shooting nearly 52% in the second half and going on a 33-5 run after halftime, Pitt (2-3) defeated a winless (0-5) HBCU team that is on a nearly two-month road trip.
“We don’t play a home game until Jan. 2,” coach Tony Madlock said. “That’s part of the HBCU life. We love it. We embrace it.”
Nonetheless, the Hornets built a 30-18 lead with 5 minutes, 49 seconds left in the first half, and Capel was wondering how his team would react to this type of adversity, especially after opening the season with three losses in four games.
“We got beat pretty good in two of them (West Virginia and Michigan), and we had an opportunity and just couldn’t finish the last two minutes of the last game (VCU),” he said.
“That does something to your psyche. We, as a staff, tried to be upbeat with them. But as a player, you feel it. You start to get tight. You start to panic. You start to overthink. At times, you can get a little bit afraid.
“Then, when you have (an opponent) that’s playing with house money, they don’t have that. There are no expectations.
“The fact in the first half that we couldn’t make a shot (33.3% from the field), I thought that knocked us back. They went on that run and that really knocked us back.”
He told his team, “Stop taking shots like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.”
“I could see we were hoping, instead of just shooting,” he said.
But Pitt beat back those mental demons and ended up with a decisive victory by outscoring Alabama State, 42-20, in the final 20 minutes.
“(Capel) probably had some choice words for them at halftime,” Madlock said.
The Panthers won while playing without senior guard Jamarius Burton (knee inflammation), a hobbled Greg Elliott (who still played more than 18 minutes) and junior William Jeffress. Capel said after the game that Jeffress will have toe surgery and is likely lost for the season.
Several players stepped up, including Blake Hinton, who led the Panthers with 18 points, and Nike Sibande, who added 17 off the bench. Freshman Jorge Diaz Graham started and scored nine points with eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Nelly Cummings contributed 10 points and five assists.
But the best news was the return of center John Hugley, who played Wednesday after missing the previous six weeks (knee), hurt the other knee Thursday and didn’t start Sunday.
But Hugley doesn’t carry the designation as the team’s best player by accident. He played nearly 19 minutes and almost recorded a double-double (10 points, nine rebounds, six offensive).
“John came in and gave us a jolt,” Capel said.
Hinson and Hugley led a comeback at the end of the first half that trimmed Alabama State’s lead to 34-31 at halftime. In the second half, Pitt wasted little time in grabbing complete control.
“I’m proud of our guys for how we responded, especially after getting down in the first half,” Capel said. “In the second half, I thought we defended at a very high level.”
Jeff Capel gets the win, with Nike Sibande scoring 17 points. pic.twitter.com/5xn8IMrjFm
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) November 20, 2022
Capel said the 6-foot-9 Hugley gives the Panthers that vital presence in the paint.
“He sat out for six weeks. He’s not in the condition he needs to be in yet,” Capel said. “We have to play him in spurts. As his conditioning gets better, he’ll be even better.”
There will be plenty of opportunity for Hugley to get in shape. Starting Tuesday against Fairleigh Dickinson, Pitt will play three more games in seven days.
“We’re a little bit banged up with all these games coming right back-to-back,” Capel said. “(It) wasn’t smart scheduling on my part.”