University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
2-0,0-0ACC
Buffalo
0-2,0-0MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 45 | 16 | 61 |
| Pittsburgh | 32 | 48 | 80 |
11/5/2026 11:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – Baye Ndongo posted 23 points and 21 rebounds as the Panthers used a strong second half to earn an 80-61 victory over Buffalo Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center. Chase Foster posted 20 points and nine rebounds, while Naithan George added 16 points and seven assists to help the Panthers improve to 2-0 on the season.
Pitt was dominant in the second half, outscoring Buffalo 48-16 and outrebounding the Bulls 32-11. Pitt used a 28-6 run over a 12-minute stretch in the second half to erase a 15-point deficit and build a seven-point lead with 4:23 left to play.
George found Jonathan Powell for a corner three to spark a Pitt run and cut the deficit to a two-possession game at 53-49. Powell hit another three from the top of the arc near the Pitt bench to make it a one-point game (53-52) at the 9:51 mark in the second half.
George drew a foul and made both free throws to extend the run to 8-0 and give the Panthers their first lead since the opening minutes of the game, with just under nine minutes left to play. The Panthers went on to outscore the Bulls 24-8 over the final nine minutes, with Ndongo and Foster combining for 19 of Pitt's 24 points in that span.
The Panthers shot 45.2 percent (14-of-31) from the field in the second half after shooting just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) in the opening half.
The Panthers used a 10-0 run to take a 10-3 lead in the opening minutes of the game, led by George's back-to-back threes. Pitt held Buffalo to just 1-of-5 from the field in the opening four minutes, but the Bulls responded with back-to-back three-pointers of their own to tie the game at 11-11 with 13:03 remaining in the first half. The Panthers led by one (16-15) at the under-12 media timeout, but the Bulls made seven of their last nine field goals and closed the half on a 21-8 run over the final 10 minutes to take a 45-32 lead into halftime.
The Bulls shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field and made eight three-pointers in the first half, while the Panthers were held to just 6-of-23 from the field. Ndongo scored 12 points with seven rebounds in the first half, going 10-of-10 from the free-throw line and 1-of-4 from the field.
Pitt's defense took over in the second half, holding Buffalo to just 3-of-24 shooting from the field after the Bulls shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) in the opening half.
COMEBACK CATS
Pitt's second-half comeback was tied for the sixth largest in program history. Pitt also rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat Duquesne in double overtime during 2009-10 season. The Panthers' largest comeback in school history was a 20-point halftime deficit against UMass in the 1967-68 season.
Pitt's 32-point flip (from trailing by 13 to win by 19) in the second half is the largest in program history. It surpassed a game during the 1983-84 season against St. Francis (Pa.) in which the Panthers trailed 47-35 at the break and rallied to win 94-80, a 26-point turnaround.
MORE FIRSTS FOR CHASE FOSTER
Following a 23-point performance in his collegiate debut Monday night against Rider, Chase Foster posted 20 points and nine rebounds against Buffalo to become the first freshman in program history to score 20 or more points in each of his first two collegiate games.
Only two other freshmen in program history, Ricardo Greer and DeJuan Blair, scored at least 20 points in their collegiate debuts, but neither reached the 20-point mark in their second career game.
Seeing 20/20
Baye Ndongo's 20/20 game was the first of its kind since 2020. He finished the game with 23 points and 21 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive end of the floor. It was the first 20/20 game for a Pitt player since Justin Champagnie had 24 points and 21 rebounds on Dec. 12, 2020, against Gardner-Webb.
Ndongo's 21 rebounds were a career-high, two better than the 19 he had against Penn State during the 2023-24 season. It was the 13th 20-point game of his career.
UP NEXT
The Panthers travel to Philadelphia to face Penn State at the Palestra Sunday (8 p.m. – ESPN2).
