Leggett Sparks Panthers to Thrilling 83-68 Triumph Against Stanford

PITTSBURGH – Ishmael Leggett made his return from injury to register a team-high 21 points as Pitt bounced back from a sluggish start to secure an 83-68 victory over Stanford Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers were down by nine at the halfway point of the first half, but they controlled the game for the following 20 minutes, resulting in their 15^th straight win at home.

Pitt outperformed Stanford, 46-18, from the 10:07 mark in the first half until the 10:50 mark of the second half, effectively breaking the game open and improving to 12-2 overall and 3-0 in the ACC.

Jaland Lowe contributed 16 points, five assists, and four steals, while Guillermo Diaz Graham showcased another robust performance with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Zack Austin added to the scoring effort with 11 points in the victory.

Stanford initiated a 9-0 surge to take a 13-7 lead as Pitt suffered through a nearly four-minute scoring drought. The Cardinal increased their lead to 22-13 with 9:51 remaining in the half, as Maxime Raynaud successfully made his first five shot attempts and the team shot 60 percent (9-of-15) from the field in the initial 10 minutes of play.

Austin drilled a wing three-pointer off good ball movement to cut the deficit to 24-18 and spark the Pitt comeback. Leggett followed with a three-point play following a Cardinal free throw, and the Panthers capitalized on a turnover on the next possession. Jorge Diaz Graham knocked down a wing three-pointer, prompting a Stanford timeout with 6:11 left, and Leggett secured a tough rebound before navigating into the lane for another jumper, giving Pitt a 26-25 advantage.

Raynaud answered with a deep three-pointer late in the shot clock, but Leggett again hit a tough shot in the lane, marking Pitt’s sixth successive made field goal and tying the score at 28-28 as the game approached the final media timeout of the half.

Pitt completed their last four attempts of the half and ended the opening 20 minutes with a 12-2 run to hold a 38-30 lead at halftime. Jorge Diaz Graham connected on a corner three-pointer from a cross-court pass from his brother, and Lowe sank a three-pointer with four seconds to go to finalize the Panther rally.

Leggett accumulated 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting (6-of-6 on two-point shots), while Jorge Diaz Graham went 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, igniting the Pitt offense.

The Panthers returned from halftime blazing, with scores from Leggett, Austin, and Guillermo Diaz Graham pushing the lead to 44-30 and forcing a Stanford timeout with 17:56 left. Guillermo Diaz Graham netted his second three-pointer of the night, extending the Panthers’ lead to 49-32 as they approached the first media timeout of the second half.

Pitt continued to apply pressure and stretched their lead to over 20 points following a tip dunk by Guillermo Diaz Graham with 13:18 remaining. Stanford managed to chip down the deficit to 15 points (59-44) with a pair of free throws from Chisom Okpara with 8:28 left while Pitt experienced a 2:43 scoring lull, but Austin brought the crowd back to life with a reverse tip dunk to send the Panthers into the under-eight media timeout with a 61-44 advantage.

Austin converted two free throws to raise the Pitt lead to 72-51 with 5:15 left, and the Pitt bench entered to solidify the win. Stanford sank three three-pointers during the final three minutes but couldn’t come closer than the final 15-point margin.

Raynaud led Stanford with 21 points, making 7-of-10 shots, while Okpara contributed 14 points off the bench. The Cardinal fall to 9-5 for the season and 1-3 in the ACC.

LEGGETT RETURNS

Leggett rejoined the lineup after missing the California game due to an ankle injury, delivering another impressive performance for the Panthers. He concluded with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, marking his 11^th game scoring 15 or more points and his fifth instance of surpassing 20 points this season. Leggett converted all nine of his two-point shot attempts with a series of pullups in the lane and finishes at the rim.

REVERSING THE TREND AFTER 10

Pitt outscored Stanford 25-8 during the final 10 minutes of the first half, as the Panthers recovered from a rough shooting start (6-of-15). Pitt surged back with a shooting performance of 10-of-14 (.714) from the field and four three-pointers in the latter portion of the first half. The Panthers also intensified their defense, limiting Stanford to 2-of-12 (.167) shooting from the field over the last 10:06 of the first half.

ZA ENTERS ELITE CATEGORY

Austin tallied his 200^th career block in the victory, becoming only the third player in NCAA history to amass at least 1,200 points, 600 rebounds, 175 three-pointers, and 200 blocks throughout a career.

EFFECTIVE SHOOTING

Pitt achieved a shooting percentage of 56.4 percent (31-of-55) from the field, marking their fourth successive game shooting 50 percent or more. The Panthers were exceptionally efficient, hitting 24-of-36 (.667) on their two-point attempts during the match.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE

Pitt restricted the Cardinal to 35.3 percent (18-of-51) shooting from the field, including a 9-of-36 (.250) performance over the last 30 minutes of play. The Panthers also recorded eight steals and seven blocks.

CONTROLLING THE PAINT

Pitt delivered a commanding effort in the paint, boasting a 40-10 edge in points scored within the key and a 34-23 advantage in rebounding. The 30-point margin in points in the paint was the second largest for the Panthers this season.

UP NEXT

Pitt is set to travel to Durham, N.C. to compete against fourth-ranked Duke on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Cameron Indoor Stadium (7 p.m. – ESPN).