Vanderbilt pulls away from Pitt 68-52

Pitt and Vanderbilt were locked in a battle midway through the second half, but the Commodores found an extra gear to blow past the Panthers by a score of 68-52. The loss drops Pitt's record to 2-3 on the season, while Vanderbilt improved o 4-1.

Pitt guard Jamarius Burton made a layup with the the foul at the 7:59 mark left in the game to bring Pitt to within 44-42 of Vanderbilt heading into the under eight media timeout. The Commodores promptly responded with an 24-10 run to close out the game and come away with a road victory.

The struggle for Pitt on Wednesday was offense. The Panthers shot just 36% from the floor, and made just 9 field goals in the second half. Jeff Capel's team did not find many sources of easy offense, as Pitt came up with just 2 fast break points for the entire game.

Pitt was led on offense by sophomore guard Femi Odukale, who finished with a team-high 14 points, including 7-of-7 from the free throw line after entering the contest as a 44% shooter from the line. Santos contributed 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Burton added 9 points off the bench. No other Panthers found double figures.

Vanderbilt shot a scorching 57.7% from the floor in the second half. Trey Thomas scored all 14 of his points in the second half, and connected on four 3-pointers. Preseason SEC Player of the Year Scotty Pippen Jr. added 11 points as well for Jerry Stackhouse's team, but Pitt held him to 5-of-12 from the floor.

The first half showed promise for a Pitt team looking to win its third straight game. The Panthers grabbed an early 18-9 advantage and they were holding the Commodores down defensively. Santos and Odukale each buried threes for Pitt in the middle of a strong stretch for Pitt.

It was short lived, however.

Vanderbilt was able to mount a quick 7-3 advantage in the final four minutes of the first half to grab a 24-23 halftime advantage and held that lead for the remainder of the contest. Pitt got the game back within two points, but were overwhelmed in the final eight minutes.

Pitt is now 4-5 in non-conference games against power-five opponents under Jeff Capel. The Panthers will return to action on Saturday afternoon against UMBC at the Petersen Events Center.