Pitt wins 13th consecutive City Game, 84-67

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Pitt and Duquesne’s matchup in the 82nd City Game at the Consol Energy Center Saturday was basically a game of runs. And in the second half, facing their first deficit in a second half this season, Pitt made the game’s final run which resulted in a 84-67 final score and the Panthers’ 13th consecutive victory over their rival from just two miles away.

Pitt took an early 11-point lead to start the game via a 14-3 run, which Duquesne answered with a 18-7 spurt to tie the contest at 21-all over 13 minutes into the game. The Dukes held fast with the Panthers through halftime, and trailed 39-35 after 20 minutes–the smallest halftime lead for Pitt in any of its seven games.

“I was concerned about them getting off to a quick start, but we did,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. “Obviously Duquesne responded.”

Duquesne then pulled ahead for a spell to start the second half with three consecutive 3-pointers from Derrick Colter and Tra’Vaughn White. The Dukes 44-41 lead was their final of the game, and didn’t last very long as the Panthers posted a 17-1 stretch to take control of the game. 

Cam Wright led the Panthers with a career-high 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Wright played a complete game, recording five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks as well.

“I just give a lot credit to my teammates,” Wright said. “They set me up a lot.”

Lamar Patterson continued his consistent scoring from Brooklyn, as he chipped in 18 points and shot 7-of-14 from the field. Patterson also pulled in a game-best eight rebounds, dished out six assists, and recorded five steals.

Also scoring in double-digits were Talib Zanna, who scored 13 points before he fouled out, and Durand Johnson who came off the bench to score 11. James Robinson scored nine points, and handed out a game-high nine assists.

For Duquesne, Ovie Soko made only three baskets but scored a team-high 17 points by virtue of his aggression that netted him 20 free throw attempts. Soko shot just 11-of-20 from the line, and Duquesne as a whole made just 51.4 percent of its 35 tries from the charity stripe which head coach Jim Ferry believed had a lot to do with the Dukes loss.

“We can’t come out and miss 17 free throws and beat a team like Pitt,” Ferry said. “It’s crippling, and I think it kind of sucked the air out of us.”

Jeremiah Jones scored 13 points and Colter added 12 as the other Dukes to reach double-digit scoring. Jones also led the team with seven boards.

Dixon was dissatisfied with the number of free throws attempted by the Dukes.

“We want to make as many as they take,” Dixon said. “If they’re getting to the free throw line that many times, we’re obviously doing something wrong.”

Overall, the Panthers outrebounded by 14 at 45-31 and held the Dukes to 40 percent shooting on 20-of-50 attempts. At halftime, the teams were tied with 17 rebounds apiece and the Panthers wanted to separate themselves from the Dukes in that aspect of Saturday’s game. 

“When we came in at halftime, coach told us what the margin was,” Patterson said. “From there, we knew what we had to do to win the game. We got it done.”