Blake Hinson will have a hard act to follow when Pitt hosts Canisius on Saturday evening.
The Panthers’ senior guard sank nine three-pointers and scored a career-best 29 points in an 80-63 road win over rival West Virginia on Wednesday night. Pitt (6-3) had 38 attempts from 3-point range, making 16, while providing an offensive barrage that left the Mountaineers behind in the second half.
“That’s who we are,” Panthers coach Jeff Capel said. “You know, I think we can shoot the basketball. We haven’t shot it well in the last four games, but this is more of who I think we can be. More importantly, I thought we really did a great job of moving the basketball and sharing.”
Pitt averages 30.0 attempts from distance per game, which is easily the most in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Hinson is making 4.3 3-pointers per outing, which ranks second in Division I behind only Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas (4.5). He attempts 9.6 from the 3-point line each time out — which ranks fourth in the country — and has led the Panthers in scoring in five of its nine contests this season.
The Golden Griffins (6-4) will likely have their hands full with the scoring threat.
Paced by Siem Uijtendaal’s season-high 24 points, Canisius got past nonconference foe Robert Morris 87-80 at home on Wednesday.
“We’ve had a lot of games here in a short period of time,” said Golden Griffins coach Reggie Witherspoon, who picked up his 100th victory with the program against the Colonials. “To be this short-handed — you know, we scheduled, but we didn’t realize we’d be this short-handed. Now guys are sort of at the end of their gas tank a little bit here and now you’ve got to keep fighting. You’ve got to have that resilience.”
Uijtendaal has tallied 15.4 points per game thus far, while Tre Dinkins has chipped in with 14.0.
For Pitt, Carlton Carrington has 14.8 points and 6.2 assists per game, while Ishmael Leggett has contributed 14.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
