A tale of two halves for the first place Panthers

It may have been a great uniform switch. Or perhaps the Panthers ate their Wheaties. Whatever… It may have been a great uniform switch. Or perhaps the Panthers ate their Wheaties. Whatever took place at halftime turned Saturday night’s men’s basketball game between Pitt and West Virginia into a case of Jekyll and Hyde.

The game proved to be one of numbers – and in particular, shooting percentages.

The Mountaineers were on fire in the first half, shooting 59 percent and scoring 45 points against the best defense in the Big East. But the Panthers answered back by dominating the second half and putting on an offensive display of their own on their way to an 85-75 victory.

The Mountaineers shocked a national television audience and the home crowd by opening the contest with a 10-0 run against the Panthers, more closely resembling their ranked opponents than a team that won’t even qualify for the Big East Tournament.

West Virginia slowed down momentarily to allow a basket by point guard Brandin Knight but continued to tear up the court, making its first 10-of-15 shots and continuing to shoot near 70 percent for much of the half.

West Virginia entered halftime with an improbable 45-37 lead.

Perhaps the Mountaineers were sparked by change, playing under interim coach Drew Catlett for the first time after he took over, following the unexpected retirement of his uncle, Gale Catlett, two days earlier.

The 45 points the Panthers gave up was the second-most allowed by Pitt in the first half of a game this season. The only team to score more first half points against Pitt this year was Notre Dame, who registered 49 in the Irish’s Jan. 30 victory in South Bend, Ind.

Much of the inspired offense found by the Mountaineers was fueled by freshman Jonathan Hargett’s 18 first half points, in which he hit seven-of-14 shots. Hargett finished with a team-high 26 points, including four-of-10 from three-point land.

But the Panthers were not about to let the Mountaineers’ fairy tale half be replicated. Not if Knight had any say in the matter.

It was Pitt’s turn to dominate, led by Knight who finished with a career-high 29 points and continuously pulled off plays with backcourt mate Julius Page that appeared to be effortless.

Knight was 10-of-18 in field goal attempts, including six-of-13m from behind the arc. He also chipped in with six assists, three steals and two rebounds.

“When you look at the stats, you have to say he is a candidate for player of the year,” Howland said.

Knight’s one weakness, as it has been all season, was his free-throw shooting. Knight was three-of-eight from the charity stripe, but his inability to shoot free throws is not as pertinent in a game that does not come down to the buzzer.

His ability to shoot field goals is.

It was Knight’s three-pointer that gave the Panthers their first lead of the game, 52-52, with 15 minutes, 4 seconds remaining in the game. Not to be outdone by their struggling Big East rivals, the Panthers went on a 10-0 run of their own to open up a 69-56 lead with just over nine minutes left on the clock.

Pitt never looked back.

The Mountaineers would move within eight but get no closer, as the Panthers had the hot hand, shooting as high as 80 percent a little more than halfway through the second half. The Panthers finished at 53 percent for the game.

The Panthers outscored the Mountaineers 48-30 in the second half to cruise to the 85-75 victory. But as the case has been many times this season, the Panthers had to do things the hard way by pulling out a come-from-behind win.

“We have been overcoming adversity all year,” Knight said. “Our guys never think we are out of a game.”