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Hinson scores 29 as streaky Panthers end preseason with a win

If Pitt is going to be a better shooting team this season than it has in previous years under Jeff Capel, streakiness is inevitable.

In the Panthers’ exhibition finale against Edinboro at the Petersen Events Center on Wednesday night, that was on full display, as Pitt started cold but heated up in a big way to log a second blowout win of the preseason, beating the Scots 92-53.

This followed Pitt’s 103-51 win over Clarion last Saturday. In that game, the Panthers hit 12-of-28 from three, which seemed to be an indication of how the team might be able to play this season.

But Wednesday night’s exhibition didn’t have the same consistency to start. Pitt made just two of its first 11 three-pointers over the first 10 minutes against Edinboro, leaving the Panthers with a single-digit lead halfway through the first half.

Then Blake Hinson took over. The transfer from Iowa State broke the cold streak from three by hitting four in a row to help turn a 17-12 lead into a 33-16 advantage in just a few minutes. Greg Elliott and Nate Santos hit their next two attempts to give Pitt six made three’s in a row, and by the time halftime hit, Hinson had 28 points, Pitt had 53 and the Panthers had made seven of their final 10 attempts from deep in the half.

Pitt went cold to open the second half, but with senior guard Nelly Cummings spending the final 20 minutes on the bench, Nike Sibande took advantage of the opportunity. The veteran guard scored 14 points in the win, with 11 of those coming after halftime.

Hinson was the star of the night, though, scoring 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including a 5-of-8 mark from three. He also had seven rebounds and three assists.

The Panthers also got double-figure scoring from Elliott, who put up 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting, while Fede Federiko, who started at center, had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Santos, Cummings, Sibande, Elliott, Hinson and walk-on KJ Marshall all made three-point shots in the win. The Panthers finished the game shooting 11-of-34 from deep.

Pitt will open the 2022-23 regular season next Monday night at the Petersen Events Center when the Panthers host Tennessee Martin for a 7 pm tipoff.

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