Federiko & Hinson Pace Panthers to 82-56 Win Over North Florida

Saturday, December 17

Pittsburgh, PA

1 PM

Pitt

8-4,1-0ACC

North Florida

3-7,0-0ASUN

North Florida

Pittsburgh

Federiko & Hinson Pace Panthers to 82-56 Win Over North Florida

12/17/2022 3:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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PITTSBURGH – Federiko Federiko scored a season-high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks, while Blake Hinson added 18 points and six rebounds as the Panthers closed out non-conference play with a 82-56 win over North Florida Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt improved to 8-4 on the season, 1-0 in the ACC, heading into a Dec. 20 road matchup at Syracuse.

Greg Elliott recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. Jamarius Burton also scored in double figures with a 13-point effort in under 20 minutes of play.

The Panthers shot 52.5 percent from the field and topped the 80-point mark for the sixth time this season. Pitt also held North Florida 16 points below its season average and limited the Ospreys to 6-of-25 (.240) shooting from three-point range.

Pitt used a pair of 8-0 runs to open up a 39-25 halftime lead against the Ospreys. Elliott's second three-point field goal of the half gave the Panthers a 27-15 lead at the 4:45 mark of the half. Pitt extended its lead to 17 points on a fast break finish by Hinson before a 5-2 North Florida run in the final 70 seconds of play closed the gap.

Federiko had a solid opening half with 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks, while Nike Sibande came off the bench to spark the Panthers with six points, four rebounds and two assists.

The Panthers pushed their lead past the 20-point mark in the opening four minutes of the second half as Hinson scored eight points before the first media timeout. Federiko extended the Pitt lead to 59-33 with his fifth interior basket of the half at the 13:53 mark.

The Ospreys got hot from three-point range and chipped the margin back to 15 points with just under 10 minutes remaining. Jarius Hicklen hit a pair of threes during the stretch for the visitors.

Pitt pushed its lead back to 20 points on a pair of interior baskets by Federiko and Burton along with a free throw from Jorge Diaz Graham following a nice offensive rebound and pass from Federiko. The Ospreys got no closer than 19 points over the final 8:44 of play as Burton delivered nine of the team's final 17 points on the day.

Hicklen paced North Florida with 15 points, while Hendricksen added 12 points and eight rebounds. Jose Placer also reached double figures with 12 points in the loss for the Ospreys.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS CONTINUES
Pitt continued its outstanding offensive play in the second half of games scoring 43 points on 59.4 percent (19-of-32) shooting from the field after halftime … the Panthers have scored 40 or more points during the second half in seven of the past nine games … Pitt is shooting 176-of-359 (.490) from the field in the second half of play this season.

HELPING HAND
Pitt recorded 20+ assists in a game for the third time this season with 21 assists on 32 made field goals … Nelly Cummings matched a season high with seven assists, while Elliott and Sibande both had four assists, apiece.

ELLIOTT EFFICIENCY
Elliott went 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range to extend a torrid shooting stretch. The Detroit, Mich., native is now 18-of-26 (.692) from the field and 12-of-18 (.667) from beyond the arc over the past three games.

UP NEXT
Pitt returns to conference play Tuesday, Dec. 20 at Syracuse (ESPNU – 9 p.m.). The Panthers are 1-0 in the ACC this season with a 68-60 road win at NC State in early December.