For a minute there, it seemed like Central Arkansas was going to be the Pitt Panthers waterloo. You know, the team that will finally bring this undefeated group of youngsters back to earth. After all, this is a long season and The Panthers will eventually lose a game, right?
Apparently, Pitt didn’t get the memo, because they beat up on Central Arkansas like they did the other 3 opponents, in a 97-71 defeat that improves the Panthers to 4-0 as they continue the Barclays Classic at the Petersen Events Center.
Starters for Game 4️⃣#ZooEra pic.twitter.com/76epcGSTGe
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) November 15, 2018
“This was a good win for us, playing against a team with this size, for us to be able to win the battle on the boards and to have 13 offensive rebounds was really good.” Pitt Head Coach Jeff Capel said “I was proud of our team for how we responded to adversity. It was a very weird game early, and it was hard to get a rhythm. A big part of that had to do with Central Arkansas. They came out and hit threes right away, but it was just a weird game. I thought we responded to that adversity, and I thought we did some really good things.”
Another W for the squad.#ZooEra pic.twitter.com/lA8wOHisCI
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) November 16, 2018
Jared Wilson-Frame scored 20 points and five Pitt players scored in double digits as the Panthers pulled away from Central Arkansas after trailing them 6-0, 12-6 and 18-15 before taking the 19-8 lead, and never trail the rest of the game.
Freshman wing Au’Diese Toney set a career high with 15 points. Fellow freshmen Xavier Johnson (12) and Trey McGowens (11) also finished in double digits, with each adding highlight-reel plays down the stretch as the Panthers put an exclamation point on the comfortable win. Malik Ellison added 13 points.
The teams combined for 42 personal fouls, with many of them sending a player sprawling to the floor. The Panthers did a better job taking advantage, getting to the free-throw line for 35 attempts and hitting 26 of them. Central Arkansas (2-2) made just nine of their 13 from the stripe.
Thatch Unruh led the way for the Bears with 15 points, all of which came in the first half. He had 12 points in the first five minutes as Central Arkansas jumped out to a 17-8 lead. But Pitt responded with a 16-2 run and never trailed the rest of the way.
Wilson-Frame continues to be the Panthers’ most prolific scorer and is doing it in a sixth-man role. His 20 points decreased his season average to 21.3, but that’s still 7.0 more than second-leading scorer Johnson.
“He’s a guy that can put up points, but more than anything, he’s a guy that can create plays.” Capel said about his Senior Guard “We want Jared to be aggressive when he has open looks. All our guys have confidence in him when he has an open look, and we look for him. I’ve said since I’ve been here and had a chance to work with him that I think there’s a lot more to his game than he’s shown.”
Pitt Finishes its five-game, season-opening homestand against North Alabama on Saturday before heading to Brooklyn to face Saint Louis as they conclude play in the Barclays Classic at the Barclays Center.
“I’m really proud of our team.” Said Capel. “We have a quick turnaround. We need to move past this immediately and start our preparation for Saturday afternoon.”
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