WHITE SULPHUR SPGS- The Greenbrier hosted some big-time basketball this weekend with the Greenbrier Tipoff’s Mountain Division.
Pitt and LSU met first on Friday afternoon with former WVU coach Bob Huggins in the audience watching.
After several alley oops, some clutch shots, and timely defense, the Panthers got a 74-63 victory and remained undefeated.
Jaland Lowe led Pitt with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists and Ishmael Leggett added 21 points for Pitt. Vyctorious Miller and Jalen Reed each scored 14 points for LSU in a losing effort.
Wisconsin and UCF battled in the second and final game of the 4-team tournament first round. The Badgers brought a large crowd and rowdy fanbase and they were treated to a dominant performance from their 19th ranked team in the country. Wisconsin got off to a hot-shooting start and jumped out to a 46-31 halftime lead. They rode that early momentum to an 86-70 victory.
The Badgers put four players in double figures led John Blackwell’s 17 points and John Tonje’s 15. Jordan Ivey-Curry led UCF with 13 points. Wisconsin shot 48.5 percent for the game.
On Sunday, Nov. 24, the third-place game was played between LSU and UCF along with the much-anticipated title game, Pitt and Wisconsin that followed immediately after.
LSU took the third-place finish with a thrilling, long, 109-102 win over the Knights in triple overtime. The game was projected to conclude around 5:00 PM, but instead, lasted until about 6:10. Still, the crowd was treated to a physical basketball game. LSU made a few more plays at the end including a highlight reel dunk and acrobatic layup from Dji Bailey who put the game away and finished with 14 points. Jordan Sears led LSU with 25 points and added 9 rebounds. Reed secured a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Cam Carter scored 20.
For UCF, Darius Johnson had 25 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds, Keyshawn Hall had 21 points, and Jordan Ivy-Curry added 20.
In the final game of the evening with both teams represented in the stands well, especially Wisconsin, Pitt jumped out to a 23-8 lead over the 19th ranked Badgers and led by seven at halftime.
But in the second half, the Badgers regathered themselves, stayed step-for-step, and grinded the Panthers down and they were led by Tonje. He scored 33 points to lead the Badgers and seemingly scored at will in the second half as Pitt had no answer on how to stop him from getting in the paint and scoring. John Blackwell added 14 for Wisconsin.
Pitt was led by Ishmael Leggett’s 17 points. Cameron Corhen had 16 and Jaland Lowe contributed 15.
The tournament was a huge success. It will be interesting to see how this tournament progresses moving forward.
Additional Photos by Brandon Baker:
Wisconsin Basketball Photo/X
