Pitt's William Jeffress learns a lesson: Sometimes it's OK to miss a foul shot

The book coaches use states clearly that a team up two with only seconds to play should miss its free throws. If the ball goes through the net, the clock doesn’t immediately start and the opponent has a chance to set up a play. Miss it and time runs out while players tangle for the rebound.

That was Jeff Capel’s plan Thursday night when Pitt’s William Jeffress stepped to the foul line while the Panthers held a 70-68 lead against Colgate with a second left. Jeffress was fouled after retrieving teammate Femi Odukale’s block of Nelly Cummings’ last shot.

Jeffress missed the first free throw — unintentionally — and Capel called timeout. “That’s what I wanted us to do, to miss it,” Capel said.

But in that moment, he miscalculated Jeffress’ need for perfection.

“When I told Will that, he looked like I had four heads,” Capel said. “He looked confused.

“That’s on me. We haven’t practiced that situation. I figured (Colgate) had a 3-point play from out of bounds. I knew they had no timeouts. I was trying to tell him to miss it, but make sure you hit the rim. Once, I saw the look on his face and the confusion, I said, ‘Just go ahead and make it.’ “

Which is what Jeffress did, giving Pitt a 70.4 free-throw percentage (19 of 27) for the game. It had been only 62.3 before the game.

Colgate did get a last, desperation shot from half-court, but it wasn’t close and Pitt’s 71-68 victory was complete. Which was a change from the previous two games when Minnesota and Virginia beat Pitt on last-second shots.

That final free throw was Jeffress’ ninth point, tying his season high. Pitt received balanced scoring behind John Hugley, who scored 22, with seven rebounds, to push his averages to 16.1 points and 7.4 boards per game. Two others — Jamarius Burton (13) and Mouhamadou Gueye (10) — also scored in double digits, giving Pitt (3-6) three for only the third time this season.

Plus, Odukale came off the bench after missing the Virginia game with an ankle injury and played 22 minutes, including two clutch defensive plays at the end.

Meanwhile, senior walk-on Onyebuchi Ezeakudo, who made his second consecutive start, played nearly 27 minutes and put together a stat line that included two 3-pointers, with an assist, steal and block and two rebounds. He also committed only one turnover. For the season, Ezeakudo, a 6-foot point guard from Fort Wayne, Ind., has hit 7 of his 11 3-point attempts.

“He’s been terrific,” Capel said. “For me, I’m not surprised just because I know how he works, both on and off the court, in the classroom. He’s a really unbelievable kid, and he’s worked on his game since he’s been here. He’s gotten better.

“The guys have confidence in him. We have confidence in him. He has confidence in himself. He’s all about Pitt. It’s been really cool to watch him have some really good moments this year.”

Ezeakudo, Odukale and Burton give the Panthers options in the backcourt as they prepare for Sunday’s game against Monmouth at the Petersen Events Center.