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PITTSBURGH (AP) Jaland Lowe scored 21 points and Ishmael Leggett recorded a double-double and Pitt beat Radford 96-56 in a season-opener for both teams on Monday night.
Leggett scored 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.
TJ Nesmith made a pair of free throws with 6:02 left before halftime to reduce the Panthers' lead to 28-24. From there, Pitt used the rest of the half to distance itself and secure the win.
Pitt outscored the Highlanders 17-3 in the final 5 1/2 minutes before intermission and led 45-27 at halftime. Guillermo Diaz Graham started the scoring outburst with a pair of free throws then converted a three-point play on a lob dunk off a pass from Lowe. The Panthers reached their first double-digit lead when Damain Dunn made two free throws to make it 35-25 with 2:46 remaining.
The lead reached 20 points, 51-31, early in the second half when Guillermo Diaz made a 3-pointer. Pitt expanded the margin to 63-33 a little more than three minutes later on a 3 by Leggett.
The Panthers never trailed.
Brandon Maclin, Nesmith and Zion Walker led Radford with nine points each.
It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Radford’s record fell to 3-30 against current ACC teams.
Pitt returns this season with its sights set on nothing less than an NCAA Tournament berth. The Panthers won 12 of their last 16 games and were ousted in an ACC Tournament semifinal loss to North Carolina.
The NCAA Tournament selection committee revealed that Pitt was among the “First Four Out,” and the Panthers immediately declined an invitation to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
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