UMBC rides hot 3-point shooting to build 1st-half lead, beat Pitt at home

UMBC devised a plan to counter its size disadvantage against Pitt by using its quickness as a weapon, forcing the Panthers to scramble by penetrating the lane and kicking the ball to the perimeter.

The Retrievers repeatedly got open looks, sinking 11 3-point shots in the first half to build a double-digit lead from which Pitt couldn’t recover in an 87-77 victory Saturday afternoon at Petersen Events Center.

It was Pitt’s first loss in 14 games to an America East opponent and its second consecutive nonconference loss at the Pete, where the Panthers are 161-14 in such games. Pitt dropped to 75-8 in November at the Pete, where nonconference defeats once were a rarity.

It was a signature win for UMBC first-year coach Jim Ferry, who was Duquesne’s coach from 2012-17 and spent the past four at Penn State, three as an assistant and last year as interim head coach. Ferry won his previous game against Pitt, a 64-55 victory in December 2016 at PPG Paints Arena that ended the Dukes’ 15-year losing streak in the City Game.

“We’ll certainly enjoy this bus ride home,” Ferry said, with a smile. “To beat an ACC team on the road is a great accomplishment for UMBC. I’m really proud of these guys.”

UMBC (4-2) built a 55-44 halftime lead after shooting 58.6% from the field, making 11 of 17 3-point attempts. Pitt coach Jeff Capel dwelled on the defensive lapses in back-to-back halves, given that Vandy made 7 of 13 3s in shooting 57.7% from the field in the second half in a 68-52 win on Wednesday night.

The Panthers (2-4), who shot 8 of 14 from 3-point range in scoring a season-high point total, were led by sophomores John Hugley (game-high 21 points on 8 of 10 shooting) and Femi Odukale (19 points, four assists).

“Offense was not our problem today,” Capel said. “We lost this game because we didn’t defend the standard we need to defend at.”

The Panthers started strong, as Odukale scored eight points in the first 5 minutes, 53 seconds before drawing his second personal foul on a charge at 12:44 that prompted his exit.

“Certainly, we need him on the court,” Capel said. “He’s a guy that’s one of our best offensive players, but he’s also one of our better defensive players. When he’s out there, we need him talking, too. When he talks and he’s really into it, we’re a different basketball team. Certainly, having him pick up his second foul that early was not great for us.”

The Panthers led 18-13 at 12:20 before UMBC used four 3-pointers — including a four-point play by Keondre Kennedy (19 points), who was fouled on a 3 in the left corner by William Jeffress — to go on a 17-3 run and take a 30-21 lead at 8:48 in the first half.

The Retrievers made 10 of their first 19 shots, with six of those coming from beyond the arc. They led by as many as 15, taking a 44-29 advantage on two free throws by Darnell Rogers at 4:28.

Pitt cut it to nine after Odukale hit two free throws and Jamarius Burton added two more when Ferry was whistled for a technical foul for arguing a call with 1:45 left in the half to make it 51-42. But Rogers scored and Szymon Wojcik added two free throws when Noah Collier drew an offensive foul on a rebound to extend the lead to 13.

The Panthers trailed by 15 early in the second half when graduate transfer Mo Gueye drained a 3 from the left wing then blocked Jacob Boonyasith’s 3-pointer and scored on a breakaway dunk to cut it to 61-51. Odukale rebounded his own miss to trim it to 62-54. One possession after being called for an offensive foul, John Hugley converted a three-point play to cut Pitt’s deficit to five, 62-57.

UMBC, however, answered with a 9-0 run and never looked back. The closest Pitt came was within seven when Odukale made two free throws to cut it to 78-71 with 3:54 left. Odukale limped off after picking up his fourth personal foul with 2:28 remaining and Pitt trailing, 80-71, injuring his ankle when Szymon Wojcik landed on him.

“It’s a shame because it was our best offensive performance,” Capel said. “It’s disappointing that it’s in a loss. We could just never overcome that initial 20 minutes with how they bombarded us with 3s.”