Dunning Delivers Shooting Spark as Pitt Defeats Bucknell, 84-50
PITTSBURGH — Barry Dunning Jr.’s return to high-major basketball did not start the way he envisioned through the first four games, including a season-low two minutes in a rivalry loss at West Virginia Thursday.
With the Panthers returning home to take on Bucknell, Dunning manufactured an electrifying performance off the bench on the way to a Pitt 84-50 victory over the Bison at the Petersen Events Center Monday.
Dunning knocked down seven 3-pointers on the way to a 23-point outing. He shot 8-of-13 from the floor, while adding seven rebounds, a block and a steal. It’s the sixth performance of his career with 20 or more points and only second time in his career that he attempted double-digit 3-pointers.
Pitt (4-1) put together its best shooting performance on the young season from beyond the arc with a 52 percent clip. The Panthers four others in double digits with Cam Corhen, Brandin Cummings, Omari Witherspoon and Nojus Indrusaitis all with 11. Papa Kante recorded 11 rebounds as the Panthers out-rebounded the Bison 42-29.
In the first meeting between Pitt and Bucknell (2-3) since 2005 when the Bison knocked off the No. 10 Panthers at the Pete, the two squads battled back and forth out of the gates as the Bison took an 11-9 lead on a Aleksander Pachucki three. Bucknell nabbed a trio of offensive rebounds early, while Pitt turned over the ball a handful of times.
The Panthers pushed the ball inside early with just one 3-point attempt up until the 11:16 mark. That’s when Damarco Minor cashed in from three as the Panthers engineered a 12-0 run.
As Pitt’s offense started to elevate, it was in large part due to a massive spark off the bench from the South Alabama senior transfer Dunning. Through four games, Dunning, who had additional stops at UAB and Arkansas, averaged 2.8 points per game.
Dunning made the most of his early minutes and played with a purpose. Dunning got on the board with a strong drive and finish, but it was his work beyond the arc that was noteworthy.
The 6-6 Dunning looked confident from 3-point range, knocking down 4-of-5 shots from three that included a second-chance opportunity — thanks to a Kante offensive rebound — and finish after missing the initial look.
Pitt shot 55.6 percent in the opening frame with Corhen adding eight points, while Witherspoon added a handful of slick finishes at the rim for six points. Witherspoon ended the first half with a fallaway buzzer beater to make it 38-25 Pitt.
Bucknell converted on 36.4 percent of its looks from the floor in the first half with Ruot Bijiek leading the way with seven points.
Pitt came out firing on all cylinders to open the second half. The Panthers knocked down 10 of their first 12 looks from the floor.
Dunning added another pair of threes that energized the Pitt crowd, while Witherspoon and Cummings knocked down a pair of their own triples.
Roman Siulepa showed his two-way play with an inbounds steal and a breakaway slam to put the Panthers up 51-27 just over four minutes into the second half.
Pitt worked in an all-bench lineup up big in the final six minutes of the game with Dunning, Kante, Indrusaitis and freshmen Macari Moore and Kieran Mullen receiving some much-needed action.
Bijiek led the Bison with 11 points, while Amon Dorries added nine points. The Bison shot 27.7 percent from the floor and 6-of-21 (28.6%) from three.
Pitt is back on the road later this week in a neutral site matchup with UCF on Thursday. The Panthers and Knights will meet in the Legends Classic at Daytona Beach, Fla. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
