Pitt goes into holiday break with 10 wins after pounding Sam Houston

Pitt coach Jeff Capel and his players will take a 10-2 record into the holiday break, but it’s time for everyone to take a deep breath and relax. At least until they’ve had that last sip of egg nog.

After Pitt’s 110-78 victory Saturday against Sam Houston at Petersen Events Center, players will head home, enjoy their families and return to campus next week recharged and ready to attack the final 19 games of the regular season.

Capel said the time off — there’s no game until Jan. 1 against California at The Pete — is important considering the expectations ahead.

“What these guys go through is difficult,” he said. “We signed up for it. It’s not a surprise, but it’s difficult. It’s a long season, 30-plus games, two semesters. It’s more difficult now than it’s ever been because of the external pressures these guys have and they feel. There are more ways for (outsiders) to express how they’re feeling about them.”

The Panthers will enter the break pleased with the start to their season, but with a special feeling of satisfaction for a job well done Saturday in their holiday send-off in front of 7,164. Pitt’s point total is the second-most at The Pete, eighth-best all-time and the most since a 112-106 victory against Marshall on Dec. 28, 2016.

Pitt shot 58.5% from the field (38 of 65, with 23 assists), including a season-high 16 3-pointers. Zack Austin led the way with five 3s and a career-best 23 points. Ishmael Leggett also scored 23, and Jaland Lowe filled up his stat line with 18 points, 11 assists and three rebounds. Cameron Corhen had 15 points and six rebounds, and Brandin Cummings 10 points.

Capel wasn’t surprised his team shot so well in its first game in 10 days.

“I think we’re a pretty good shooting team. They all were in pretty good rhythm,” he said. “I’m pleased with how we started (taking a 10-0 lead). We’ve been flat the past two times starting basketball games. I thought we really got off to a good start.”

Since the second half of its previous game — a 96-56 victory against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 11 — Pitt has shot 61% from the field.

“As long as we’re generating good looks, I have confidence in us knocking them down,” Capel said.

Seven Panthers recorded at least one 3-pointer, and Guillermo Diaz Graham was two of four from long range to finish with eight points while snapping out of a shooting slump. He said he tried a different strategy recently to reverse his fortunes.

“Take a break from basketball a little bit, and once your mind’s clear, you’re back to it,” he said. “I tried it other way. I tried to work harder, and it didn’t work.

“I had great advice from other people. They told me to stop worrying about it, to just take a day off and come back even harder, and that’s what I did.”

Capel likes that his players will get some down time from the physical and mental demands of big-time college basketball.

“I love this game. I love my job. I love here, but I love my family more,” he said. “This job is not who I am. This game is not who these guys are. It’s a big part of what they are and what they do, but it’s not who they are. I want them to always understand that.”

The victory gave the Panthers their first 10-2 start under Capel and stretched their Petersen Events Center winning streak to 13 in a row, longest there in 10 years. Pitt hasn’t lost at home since Jan. 16 of last season, 69-58 to Syracuse.

Capel is pleased with what his team has accomplished and the toughness it has shown so far. But he’s aware the job is far from finished and improvements — especially in the area of rebounding — are necessary.

“We’ve always fought,” he said. “There’s one game this year when we didn’t (a 90-57 loss to Mississippi State on Dec. 4). We got embarrassed. But that was one game. We’ve moved on from it.”

At least on paper, Sam Houston presented a good test for the Panthers. The Bearkats (6-6) stand No. 145 in the NCAA NET rankings, second-best among Pitt’s six mid-major opponents.

“Obviously as we move forward, the competition increases, the level of team we’ll play will be better,” Capel said. “When we get back (after Christmas), it’s going to be a grind.”