PHILADELPHIA - Pitt didn’t just beat Penn State at the Palestra on Nov. 8. The Panthers showed a kind of resilience that has been missing from this program in recent seasons.
That mattered in an 82-76 win that wasn’t tidy, wasn’t easy and still ended with Pitt standing tall after absorbing a late push from the Nittany Lions. It also pushed the Panthers to 3-0, following a 95-57 rout of Rider on Nov. 2 and an 80-61 comeback over Buffalo on Nov. 9.
The common thread through all three games has been clear: this is not the same Pitt team fans have watched in years past. The Rider game was the comfortable one. The other two required adjustments, composure and a real response when things got messy.
Against Buffalo, Pitt trailed 47-32 early in the second half before flipping the game with defense and a sharper offensive approach, outscoring the Bulls 48-14 the rest of the way. Penn State didn’t build quite that kind of cushion, but the pattern was familiar. The Nittany Lions ripped off an 8-0 run and moved in front 35-28 with 5:15 left in the first half.
Pitt could have unraveled there. Instead, the Panthers answered with a 14-3 run and took a 42-38 lead into halftime.
A’lahn Sumler was right in the middle of that turnaround. The fifth-year guard scored six points during the run and helped steady the offense when Pitt needed someone to grab hold of the game.
“I say this every time, but I say our togetherness,” Sumler said about how the Panthers have dealt with adversity so far. “Every time something goes bad, we get in a huddle, we huddle up.
In the timeout, we always talk good to each other. It’s boosting my morale.
When we go out on the court, we’ve got that same confidence and that same energy to keep moving up.”
For a fan base that has spent recent seasons waiting for the bottom to fall out, that kind of response stands out.
Pitt’s roster construction is part of the story, too. One of the long-running critiques of Jeff Capel has been his inability to land big men who can become central pieces of the offense.
This group looks different. The Panthers added senior forwards Akir Souare, a 6-foot-11 transfer from Syracuse, and Baye Ndongo, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Georgia Tech, along with 6-foot-10 senior center Armani Mighty from Mercer and 6-foot-9 freshman forward Chase Foster.
Ndongo has been the headliner so far, averaging 16.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. He had 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting and nine rebounds against Penn State, and Capel made it clear how much he values the way Ndongo has played.
“When one of your better players is doing that, then it sends a message and an example,” Capel said. “I’ve been impressed this season, especially in the games, with how hard Baye has played.
“That’s something that we really tried to challenge him with because that’s been a knock on him for three years that he doesn’t play hard all the time where his motor isn’t as high as it needs to be. He’s really done that in the games. So that’s been really cool to watch.”
Souare gave Pitt an early lift, scoring the first six points of the game after totaling just five in the first two outings. Mighty also provided useful minutes off the bench and had a big dunk late, especially with Ndongo dealing with foul trouble.
Foster has already flashed major upside. He set the freshman debut record with 23 points against Rider, then added 20 more against Buffalo. Penn State held him to six points on 2-for-8 shooting, but he still came through late and helped secure the win.
That frontcourt depth gives Pitt a different look. The Panthers have four players who can make life difficult inside while also scoring at the other end, and that makes this offense more versatile than it has been in recent years.
The game also tested Pitt’s backcourt depth. Senior guard Naithan George picked up three first-half fouls and then his fourth early in the second half, while Ndongo reached four fouls with 11 minutes left. That forced the Panthers to adjust on the fly.
Sumler handled the load. He finished with a season-high 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting, hit 3 of 6 from 3-point range and made all five of his free throws. Eighteen of those points came in the second half, and he looked in control running the show with George on the bench.
“Nate having four fouls in the first half, it got to the point where I knew I had to step up and be that point guard and then score,” Sumler said. “Coach was trusting me. That’s just how it came out.”
Pitt also got production from Jonathan Powell, who scored 13 points despite an uneven shooting night and finished the game with a pair of emphatic dunks, including the last basket to close it out. Jalil Bethea added athletic pop as well, throwing down an alley-oop in the late first-half surge and later converting an and-one.
Eight of the nine Panthers who played scored, another sign that Capel has more options than he’s had in recent years. That kind of depth matters when foul trouble hits and when a game turns into a test of who can stay composed and keep making plays.
Three games in, Pitt has already shown it can win in more than one way. If this group keeps building on that togetherness, the Panthers may be able to make that depth count against a lot of teams.