Blake Hinson recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds and John Hugley IV had 16 and seven, respectively, as host Pittsburgh rode a second-half surge to an 80-64 victory over William & Mary on Friday.
Hinson’s double-double was his second of the season. He had 27 points and 13 rebounds in the Panthers’ 80-58 win over UT Martin in the season opener on Nov. 7.
Jamarius Burton also scored 16 points and Nike Sibande added 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists off the bench for the Panthers (4-3), who outscored the Tribe (3-4) by a 47-27 margin in the second half.
Pittsburgh won its third game in a row after shooting 43.5 percent from the floor (27 of 62) and 39.3 percent from 3-point range (11 of 28).
Ben Wight collected a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds to pace William & Mary.
Wight had scored 21 on three occasions, most recently in the Tribe’s 76-67 win over Army on Saturday.
Anders Nelson recorded 12 points and six assists for William & Mary, which saw its modest two-game winning streak come to a halt and fell to 0-3 away from home.
Pittsburgh transfer Noah Collier scored just four points before fouling out for the Tribe.
Wight followed up his 13-point performance in the first half by starting off strong to begin the second. He had a dunk, layup and jumper in the first 3:23 to give William & Mary a 45-43 lead.
Pittsburgh, however, promptly took control after that surge. Burton, Nelly Cummings, Hugley and Sibande each sank a 3-pointer as the Panthers enjoyed a 30-8 run to seize a 73-53 advantage.
Sibande capped that run with a three-point play and a layup, and Pttsburgh was not seriously threatened the rest of the way.
William & Mary seized a 26-19 lead on the strength of a 12-2 run, highlighted by one 3-pointer apiece by Gabe Dorsey and Nelson.
Pittsburgh answered that surge with one of its own to claim a 33-31 advantage, but Wight made a layup and Jack Karasinski added two more to propel the Tribe to a four-point lead at halftime.
–Field Level Media