Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pitt Rallies From 15 Down to Beat Buffalo 80-61 Behind Ndongo 20-20 Night

Baye Ndongo came up big on the glass and at the line to help Pitt rally past visiting Buffalo 80-61 on Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

The Georgia Tech transfer set a career mark with 13-for-17 free throw shooting on his way to a game-high 23 points, and he added a career-best 21 rebounds as the Panthers dug out of a 15-point hole in the second half. It was the first 20-20 performance by a Pitt player since Justin Champagnie did it in consecutive games in December 2020, Field Level Media reported.

Buffalo controlled the first half. The Bulls led 45-32 at the break after shooting 8-for-15 from three-point range, and a pair of free throws at the start of the second half pushed the lead to 47-32. The Petersen Events Center crowd booed the Panthers off the floor at halftime after a sloppy first twenty minutes, Pittsburgh Sports Now reported.

The comeback

Pitt began its comeback with an 11-1 run over the next five minutes. Buffalo recovered and led 53-46 after a pair of Antoine Lorick free throws with 10:43 remaining, but Pitt put together a 14-0 run to take the lead for good and pull away. In all, the Panthers outscored Buffalo 48-16 in the second half.

Freshman Chase Foster added 20 points off the bench, with 17 of them after halftime. Foster made 9 of 12 free throws and grabbed nine rebounds, and his late slam capped the comeback. Naithan George tallied 16 points and shot 8-for-10 from the foul line.

Buffalo (0-2) went cold after the break, shooting 1-for-17 from long range and 3-for-24 overall from the field in the second half. Drew Steffe led the Bulls with 15 points, and J.J. Starling added 13. Lorick, the Bulls' top scorer in their opener, had just eight points and fouled out midway through the second half. Buffalo was called for 33 fouls to 18 on Pitt.

Free throws carried a rough shooting night

Pitt shot just 37.0 percent from the field and 5-for-23 from three-point range, but the Panthers were 35-for-49 from the foul line, and Ndongo did much of that work himself. He was 5-for-10 from the field to go with his 13 made free throws in 33 minutes.

Head coach Jeff Capel told reporters after the game that he was disappointed with how his team started, even in a win that moved Pitt to 2-0. The Panthers do not have long to sit on it. Pitt faces Penn State on Sunday, November 8, at the Palestra in Philadelphia, with the game on ESPN2.