Pitt basketball concluded its 10-day, two-game overseas trip Saturday, overcoming transportation problems while recording an 83-66 victory against the Sant Julia All-Stars in Sant Julia De Vilaporta, Spain.
Defense carried Pitt to the victory, allowing the home team only 10 points in the third quarter.
Blake Hinson led the Panthers with 27 points, including five 3-pointers, while adding seven rebounds. Zach Austin also recorded seven rebounds. Ishmael Leggett hit three 3s while filling up his stat sheet with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Panthers arrived late to the game after their bus broke down 15 minutes from the arena. Seven compact cars arrived to pick up some of the players while others waited for a second bus. Despite the inconvenience, Hinson hit two 3-pointers early in the game to give Pitt a 7-0 lead.
Sant Julia answered with a 9-0 run, but Pitt was able to take a 38-36 halftime lead when Leggett hit a 3-pointer late in the second quarter. Sant Julia was scoreless for two spans of more than 3 minutes, 30 seconds each in the third quarter while Pitt gained dominance over its hosts.
.@ZackAust11 at it again in Spain.#H2P pic.twitter.com/TO3LXsJKXj
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) August 12, 2023
The highlight of the fourth quarter was a crowd-pleasing dunk by Austin off a feed from Carlton Carrington. Austin also added a putback and a second dunk to help Pitt take a 20-point lead. Austin finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals. William Jeffress had eight points, five rebounds and four steals.
Young guards Carrington, Jaland Lowe and Dior Johnson combined for 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Freshman forward Papa Amadou Kante did not play after he was undercut in Pitt’s first game of the trip in the Canary Islands.
