There couldn’t have been much talking on Pitt’s bus ride home from Morgantown on Thursday after the Panthers were routed by West Virginia on the road for their first loss of the season.

All of Pitt’s previous games, wins against Youngstown State, Longwood and Eastern Michigan, had looked routine enough from a distance, but coach Jeff Capel still thought the Panthers weren’t playing up to their full potential when it came time to visit WVU.

Against their rival, the Panthers fell 71-49, posting a season low in points while shooting 25% from long range.

Not long after, Capel began searching for a silver lining.

“I hate that it happened, but one of the things I told (the team) when we got back together was, ‘Maybe this is the best thing,’” Capel said. “I didn’t think we were playing well up to that point. … I didn’t think we had played well since (an Oct. 19 exhibition against) Providence for whatever reason, and West Virginia just exposed it.”

Having talked through the loss with his players, Capel was curious how they’d respond when Bucknell visited Petersen Events Center on Monday.

Bucknell, of the Patriot League, last played Pitt on Jan. 2, 2005, when the visiting Bison upset the No. 10-ranked Panthers, 69-66, with current coach John Griffin III present as a player.

That magic wasn’t repeated Monday, however, as Pitt (4-1) cruised to an 84-50 win, shooting 50.8% from the floor while allowing a season low in points.

“I think it’s important to have this performance coming off of a loss,” Capel said. “As a coach, you don’t know how you’re going to respond when you’re coming off a loss, especially when you come off of a loss like that. It’s a rivalry. We did not play well. We didn’t play anywhere like we’re capable of playing. … Give (WVU) all the credit in the world for that, but I love how we responded.”

Barry Dunning Jr., who played only two minutes at WVU, broke out against Bucknell. He had 23 points while looking like the pure scorer at South Alabama who the Panthers targeted in the transfer portal this offseason.

Dunning’s solid bench performance was complemented by 11 points apiece from Brandin Cummings, Cam Corhen, Omari Witherspoon and Nojus Indrusatis.

Witherspoon, a true freshman who has started every game this season, has shot 16 of 29 (55.1%) over his last three games after beginning the year 3 for 13 (23.1%).

The 6-foot-4 guard is also tied for the team lead in assists (17) and is shooting 38.5% (5 of 13) from long range.

Still, Witherspoon continues to challenge himself defensively.

“It’s been great to come out here and start for the team,” Witherspoon said. “I just feel I need to keep going on the defensive end, going out there, playing defense and getting steals, and I feel like it’s going to work myself into the game. All my other intangibles, offensively — all the other stuff is going to come with that.”

West Virginia constituted Pitt’s first test on the road, and the Panthers came up decidedly short.

Pitt next travels to Daytona Beach, Fla., for the Legends Classic. The invitational features Pitt, Central Florida and Quinnipiac, with the Panthers and UCF tipping off at 7 p.m. Thursday from the Ocean Center.

That’ll offer Capel a chance to evaluate how much his team has grown since a reality check against the Mountaineers.

“Teams that I’ve coached, it’s always been interesting to see how we respond after getting our butts kicked,” Capel said. “To me, that’s when you find out who you really, really are. When everything’s going well and everyone’s patting you on the back, it’s easy to be together.

“But when you get your butts beat, then you really start to figure out who’s with you and with us. You figure out who you are, and we’re getting close. … I thought we responded in great fashion (against Bucknell).”

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