Panther of the Week: Lamar Patterson

I watched the Cincinnati game and despite the painful performance offensively for Pitt, I was thrilled with the defense of both Cameron Wright and James Robinson. Both delivered tough defense on Sean Kilpatrick and forced him into a 4 for 13 shooting performance. I thought at that point the Lamar Patterson streak would end for Panther of the Week. Then Saturday happened. After dropping their first game of the season to the Bearcats in an ugly affair, Pitt took it out on Cal-Poly and Patterson did more than deliver. His 30-point effort, combined with a solid performance against the Bearcats gives him yet another Panther of the Week award.

The Lancaster native got off to a bad start on Tuesday in a one point loss to Cincinnati, but then again so did the rest of the Panthers offensively. Still, despite a poor offensive night, Patterson still used a good night at the free throw line to finish with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, one turnover, and despite the rugged game, finished with zero fouls. It wasn't Patterson's best game and he missed the crucial late free throws, but the senior still helped keep the Panthers in it until the very end.

How would Pitt and Patterson respond to their first setback of the season? We didn't have to wait long to find out, as they whipped Cal-Poly and won by 17 points. Leading the way was Patterso, who scored early and often. Patterson scored a career high 30 points and Pitt sprinted out to a 22-8 lead in the first half as Lamar dropped nine points during a 14-2 run to open up that lead. He also chipped in with three rebounds and three assists during the game. The performance gave Pitt their first 30 point scorer in a game since Sam Young in 2009. Something tells me that won't be the only time we hear the phrase, "Patterson became the first Panther since..." this season and that's fine with us.

There will not be a look at the week ahead for Pitt this week as the Panthers won't play again until New Year's Eve at 1 p.m., so enjoy your holidays.

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