:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62847394/usa_today_11998194.0.jpg)
Pitt knocked off No. 11 Florida State at the Petersen Events Center on Monday night, and its leader, once again, was Panthers guard Trey McGowens, who erupted for 30 points for the second time in a span of five days.
McGowens last reached the 30-point mark against Louisville last Wednesday, and it was a historic occasion, as he set a Pitt freshman record by contributing a total of 33 points on the night. For his efforts, he was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for the second time.
The freshman reasserted his claim to that title during Pitt’s 75-62 upset of Florida State, as he not only led all scorers, but also amassed five steals and four assists in the contest. The end result was one of his most versatile showings of the season and a night to remember.
After the game, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel commented on McGowens’ development.
“He has just gotten better,” Capel said. “He has continued to work, continued to learn, continued to adapt to college basketball and figured some things out. We feel like he has speed where he can get by people, and then he has athleticism and he has fearlessness where he is not afraid to throw his body around. He took a very hard fall in the first half but still continued to throw his body around like that. He is a guy where if you really look during the season he has gotten to the free-throw line, and he did a heck of job of it tonight.”
As Capel noted, McGowens found himself at the charity stripe often during the matchup with the Seminoles. He would take 19 foul shots and convert on 18 of them, tying the Pitt freshman record for most free throws made in a game, which was set by Pitt legend Charles Smith against Boston College on Jan. 21, 1985.
It's appropriate that the record McGowens tied belonged to Smith, whose jersey hangs in the rafters of the Pete, as McGowens' penchant for prolific scoring and his knack for finding his way into the Pitt record book could see his name mentioned alongside the former Panthers star's many more times in his career.