In its season-opening 100-52 win over visiting North Carolina A&T Monday night, Pittsburgh’s basketball team did something the program hadn’t done since 2016.
Carlton Carrington’s historic debut was even more impressive.
Carrington posted the first triple-double by a Pitt player since 1998 as the Panthers reached triple digits for the first time since 2016 in routing the Aggies in Pittsburgh.
Carrington, a freshman from Baltimore, went for 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as five Panthers scored in double figures. Jorge Diaz Graham had 14 points, Federiko Federiko and Blake Hinson each had 13, and Ishmael Leggett scored 11.
The Panthers jumped out to a 9-0 lead early, with Hinson, a senior forward and preseason second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference pick, accounting for seven of the points.
Pitt never looked back, using a sizable run toward the end of the first half to build a 35-point advantage at the break and ensure the outcome was never in question.
The Aggies shot 5 of 35 (14.3 percent) while being outscored 50-15 in the opening 20 minutes. Only guard Kyle Duke made more than one field goal in the half (he had two).
Meanwhile, Pitt sank more than half its shots (19-for-35, 54.3 percent) before the midway point.
Over the last 7:29 before the intermission, the Panthers pulled away with a 25-4 surge. Pitt bucketed 15 unanswered points to head into the locker room.
Off the bench, Diaz Graham led Pitt with 12 points in the first half — nine of which came during the final 3:10. Federiko, a junior center and returning starter, added another 10.
The Aggies didn’t add to the scoreboard until 3:34 had passed in the second half.
North Carolina A&T, which finished last season with a 13-19 record and is directed by first-year head coach Monte Ross, was led by Duke’s 15 points off the bench.
The last time the Panthers put up at least 100 points in a regular-season matchup was in a 112-106 win over Marshall on Dec. 28, 2016. Pitt will continue its four-game home stand to open the campaign when it hosts Binghamton on Friday night.
–Field Level Media
