Baye Ndongo had 23 points and 21 rebounds, and the Pittsburgh Panthers rallied from a halftime deficit to beat the Buffalo Bulls 80-61 on Thursday night at Petersen Events Center.
Buffalo led 45-32 at halftime and built a lead as large as 15 points. Pittsburgh took over in the second half and outscored the Bulls 48-16. The game had seven lead changes and six ties.
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The Panthers broke it open with 14 straight points. Buffalo led 53-46 before the run, and Pittsburgh led 60-53 when it ended. The Panthers' lead reached 20.
Ndongo made 5 of 10 shots and 13 of 17 free throws in 33 minutes. Chase Foster added 20 points and nine rebounds off the bench, going 9 of 12 at the line. Naithan George scored 16 points with seven assists and made 8 of 10 free throws.
Pittsburgh won the game at the foul line and on the glass. The Panthers made 35 of 49 free throws to Buffalo's 16 of 22 and outrebounded the Bulls 50-27. Pittsburgh also had a 28-14 edge in points in the paint and committed 11 turnovers to Buffalo's 17. The Panthers shot 37% from the field and went 5 of 23 from 3-point range.
Drew Steffe led Buffalo with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. J.J. Starling scored 13 points, and Dylan Ducommun had nine, all on 3-pointers. The Bulls shot 35% and made 9 of 32 from beyond the arc.
Pittsburgh improved to 2-0. Buffalo fell to 0-2. The announced attendance was 3,939.
