An ugly first half only got uglier when Pitt went to the foul line with frequency, as the Panthers struggled to make free throws by missing eight of their first 12 attempts.

So, they took a few steps back.

Propelled by the long-distance shooting of Damarco Minor and Brandin Cummings — who combined to make nine 3-pointers — the Panthers pulled away from Longwood for a 78-60 win Friday night at Petersen Events Center.

“Seeing the ball go in, as a hooper, that gives you confidence,” Cummings said. “People started seeing the ball go in the hoop a little bit more and the confidence picked up, so we started making more shots at the line.”

Minor made four 3-pointers, as well as 9 of 10 free throws, to score a game-high 23 points. Cummings sank 5 of 8 attempts from 3, including a ridiculous shot late in the game, to score 19 for Pitt. The Panthers made 12 of 30 3-pointers, sinking six in each half. After going 11 of 19 on free throws in the first half, they finished 24 of 35.

“For them to have 23 points and 19 points on a combined 18 shots is big,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “They were efficient in the manner in which they scored. They made free throws, and they made big plays for us.”

It marked the first meeting between the schools, although the Panthers (2-0) entered with a 6-0 record against Big South Conference opponents. Both teams were coming off double-digits wins, with Pitt beating Youngstown State, 74-59, Monday night and Longwood beating Division III Mary Baldwin, 92-55.

Led by 6-foot-8, 232-pound forward Elijah Tucker, Longwood used its size to pack the paint defensively and double team Pitt’s top scoring threat, limiting 6-10 forward Cam Corhen to two shots and six points. Longwood (1-1) also had an edge in offensive rebounds (12-11) and points in the paint (34-16).

“It was huge, obviously,” Capel said. “Anytime a team is trying to take your stuff inside away, especially a guy with Cam, it’s big to be able to go to something else or have something else to go to. We got to the line, too. We got there 35 times in the second half. We were able to make more of them. That gave us a chance to extend our lead at times. I feel confident in our ability as long as we take good shots that we have the right guys that can make shots.”

Longwood coach Ronnie Thomas was willing to take his chances with Pitt’s outside shooting, noting that the Panthers were averaging only 15 of their 85 points from beyond the arc through two exhibition games and their opener.

“I think it was a big challenge to make them make those shots,” Thomas said, noting that Minor has shot below 30% on 3s in his career. “I think we made those guys do some things that they haven’t been doing this year in the first three games. Credit to them, they made shots — and they made timely ones — and I think when we had some runs, specifically Cummings and (Minor) made some timely 3s.”

The Panthers overcame their struggles at the free-throw line (11 of 19) to use a 10-0 run to build a double-digit lead late in the first half. After Alphonzo Billups III made a shot high off the glass to tie it at 23-23, Cummings followed two free throws with a 3-pointer.

Roman Siulepa (12 points) sank two more foul shots, then Omari Witherspoon found Minor all alone for a 3 from the right wing for a 33-23 lead. But Billups answered with a trey and Johan Nziemi, who led Longwood with 16 points, scored off a rebound to cut it to 33-28 at the half.

Pitt’s lead didn’t last long.

Hutchinson scored at the start of the second half and Billups hit a 3 to tie it at 33-33 at 18:38. Once again, the Panthers got 3-pointers from Minor and Cummings to build a cushion then got contributions from Nojus Indrusaitis and Papa Amadou Kante for an 11-point lead.

Longwood chipped at their deficit, closing the gap to six points before the Panthers pulled away.

After Hutchinson banked in a shot, Cummings made a turnaround jumper for a 3-pointer and a 66-55 lead. He was then fouled on another attempt from beyond the arc and made two free throws for a 13-point advantage. Minor stretched the lead to 15 with a driving layup.

“We’ve got some shooters on the squad, simple as that,” Cummings said. “I don’t know what the narrative is or why the narrative is what it is, but we’ve got shooters on the squad. We proved that, and we’re going to continue to prove that.”

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