Panthers beat two Wildcat squads for Ft. Myers Tip-Off Title

The panthers saw purple all week as they traveled south to Ft. Myers, Florida for the Fort Myers Tip-Off tournament this week. Pitt (6-2 overall, 1-0 ACC) snuck past Kansas State (5-1 overall, 0-0 Big 12) for a 63-59 win on Monday before hitting Northwestern (3-3 overall, 0-0) -0 Big 10) defeated) in the championship game on Wednesday.

It was going to be a long week for the Panthers in the Sunshine State. They were flashed by the Manhattan Wildcats to open the tournament. Kansas State took a 9-0 lead before Pitt scored his first field goal – a pull-up jumper from junior guard Ryan Murphy – after more than four minutes of play.

But Murphy’s score did little to stop the bleeding. Kansas State kept Pitt at a distance for most of the first half and even extended their double-digit lead with just under four minutes to go at half time. Then the Panthers took off. First year striker Justin Champagnie and Trey McGowens second year scored seven points during an 11-3 final run to reduce the gap to four at halftime.

Pitt shot out of the 3-point range at an overall rate of 40% and 8% in the opening period, but kept pace with a 78% clip off the charity stripe.

The second half was another back-and-forth, with neither team gaining more than one possession advantage until junior striker Terrell Brown made a free throw to bring Pitt to four with 4:33 4:33 remaining.

Graduate transfer striker Eric Hamilton would make two free throws on subsequent possession, extending the Panther lead to six, but those were the final points Pitt scored for nearly four minutes.

The Wildcats fought to gain a point lead, but second guardian Xavier Johnson put the ball in for two points 11 seconds before the end of the game to regain a one-point lead, then he and Champagnie would take all four free throws on the course to a. to secure win.

Johnson caught fire in the second half and scored all 12 of his points on 5-7 shooting in the closing stages. He was supported by Murphy, Champagnie and Hamilton in double digit scorings that also added 12 rebounds.

And the Panthers moved on, Wednesday against Northwestern in a championship game that’s small but not insignificant for a team whose head coach has been clamoring for confidence.

The first half of Wednesday’s game against a new Wildcats squad seemed more like the same. The Panthers stayed out of the gates and rose 1-9 in the first four minutes of the championship game.

Those shooting problems lasted the rest of the first half, but Pitt fought his way up to a two-point lead during the break. They scored 22 points in the suit and amassed half a dozen offensive rebounds that beat their 0-11 mark from a distance.

Towards the end of the period, with Pitt two behind, Johnson and McGowens scored consecutive layups in the final 37 seconds to give the Panthers their halftime lead.

And after the short planned break, the script turned around.

Pitt’s Stars got hot, and after firing three of their first four shots at half time, the Panthers were leading by eight and less than two minutes had passed.

Your hot shooting wouldn’t stop there. Successive Champagnie 3-hands extended the lead to 13 at 5:38 and Pitt didn’t want to look back. Northwestern would get close to six, but Pitt outperformed the other cats 12-4 in the last 2:30 of the game to claim the Fort Myers Tip-Off Tournament Championship.

The Panthers shot 50% on 3-point field goals and had a 21:10 rebound cross in the last 20 minutes to cover their ugly first half.

Champagnie was named the tournament’s MVP after averaging 17 points and six rebounds per game during his week in Florida.

Now Pitt is on his way home and turns his attention to the ACC / Big 10 Challenge. The Panthers greet Rutgers next Tuesday at 9 p.m. Tip from the Petersen Event Center.

See similar https://pittnews.com/article/153063/sports/panthers-pound-pair-of-wildcat-squads-for-ft-myers-tip-off-title/

The post Panthers beat two Wildcat squads for Ft. Myers Tip-Off Title first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/panthers-beat-two-wildcat-squads-for-ft-myers-tip-off-title/