Pitt vs Sacred Heart Takeaways: Federiko Federiko Puts Stranglehold on Starting Internship

PITTSBURGH — Another second half surge saved the Pitt Panthers from the shame of falling to a low-major opponent. This time, a 50-30 second half in favor of the home Panthers allowed them to earn a blowout win over Sacred Heart, 91-66 at the Petersen Events Center.

Behind Nelly Cummings and Federiko Federiko’s best games of the season, the Panthers improved to 7-3, rebounding from a loss to Vanderbilt and building some momentum as the real meat of ACC play awaits on the other side of finals week.

Federiko Puts Stranglehold on Starting Internship

Fede Federiko took full advantage of a golden opportunity against the Pioneers. With the Panthers’ typical starting center John Hugley relegated to a bench role after a stretch of uncharacteristically poor and slow play, Federiko made his fifth start of the season and third since Hugley has been back in the fold.

It’s been assumed that Hugley would be able to take over as the regular starter as soon as he was healthy enough to play, but he hasn’t looked like himself since returning. Meanwhile, Federiko has been more than capable. He doesn’t possess the wide array of skills Hugley does, but his hard play, defensive ability and athleticism make him a good fit alongside Pitt’s outstanding guards.

Sacred Heart head coach Anthony Latina said it felt like missed shots almost weren’t an issue for the Panthers because Federiko was there to retreive so many of them.

“He’s a defensive nightmare then an offensive nightmare because he’s getting every miss,” Latina said. “There’s no pressure if you miss – Federiko’s getting the rebound anyway so just jack it up.”

Federiko posted career-highs in points (17), field goal attempts (10), field goals made (seven), rebounds (14) and assists (three) and added three blocks for good measure. The ten offensive rebounds he gathered cleaned up a quarter of the Panthers’ total misses.

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said Hugley is getting better but for the time being, Federiko makes more sense in the starting lineup. Hugley has not been good enough as a passer and scorer to cover for the mobility that’s suffered mightily since his preseason knee injury, making Federiko the more reliable choice until he’s undoubtedly healthy.

Physicality Becomes an Emphasis

The Panthers were unable to hold their own in the paint their last time out against Vanderbilt, but took advantage of a smaller opponent this timeout. Even without Hugley at his best, the Pitt dominated the paint and left with more confidence in their array of options in the frontcourt.

The Panthers shot 12-19 on layups in the second half after opening 6-13. They scored 42 points in the paint, out-rebounded the Pioneers by 28 and turned a 20-6 edge in offensive rebounding into a 20-6 advantage in second chance points. This team – usually so trigger-happy from 3-point range ended up taking 57.5% of their shots from inside the arc.

Each hit Pitt leveled against Sacred Heart in the first half paid dividends in the second. They wore down their opponents and rode it to a comfortable win.

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Cummings Continues Hot Streak

Nelly Cummings was on some kind of tear coming into this game – 13.7 points, five assists to 1.7 turnovers and three rebounds per game while shooting 43.8% from 3-point range and 75% from 2-point range. And only got better by scoring a season-high 24 points on 6-12 shooting from deep along with four steals.

Latina said Cummings’ scoring – 14 points on 4-7 3-point shooting and four assists – opened up the floodgates in the second half and allowed Pitt to turn a tight game into a blowout.

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Pitt vs Sacred Heart Takeaways: Federiko Federiko Puts Stranglehold on Starting Internship

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