PITTSBURGH – The Jacksonville men’s basketball team fell to the Pittsburgh Panthers 107-56 at the Peterson Events Center on Friday night.
 
Marcus Niblack was a bright spot in what was an otherwise tough night for the Dolphins (2-2) as they played ACC foe Pittsburgh. The senior transfer put up a team-high and season-high 22 points on 67 percent shooting from the floor. Niblack also recorded four boards, which is also a season-high.

The Panthers offense erupted early and often on the night, as four Pitt players scored in double figures. Guillermo Diaz Graham and Blake Hinson combined for 58 points to pace the Panthers and Diaz recorded his first double-double of the season.

Twelve different Dolphins saw the floor, with a lot of young players getting some valuable minutes against a high-major opponent. Donovan Rivers grabbed five rebounds, tied for the team-high, in 23 minutes off the bench. Josiah Sabino scored off of a steal and added five rebounds himself in 18 minutes and Jalen Griffith and Tito Deng combined for 14 more minutes in relief.

UP NEXT

The Dolphins return to the court next Friday as they begin the Urban-Bennett Memorial Classic, hosted by Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Their first game is against RMU on Friday and is slated for a 4 p.m. tipoff time.
 
NUMBERS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Jacksonville’s bench put up 41 of the Dolphins 56 points.
• JU shot 84 percent from the charity stripe, sinking 21 out of 25 attempts.
• Deejuan Pruitt recorded a team-high two blocks on the night.