Champagnie’s 21 points help Pitt hold off Canisius 87-79

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Justin Champagnie scored 21 points and Pittsburgh held off Canisius 87-79 on Monday.

Champagnie, a freshman, got the game started with a personal 8-0 run and he finished by tying a career-high scoring output and six rebounds.

Champagnie was 5 of 6 from 3-point range, part of a two-pronged Pitt barrage from long range with guard Ryan Murphy, who had 16 points and was 4 for 7 from deep. The Panthers were 9 of 16 for 56.3% from 3-point range. Pitt’s previous season best was 41.7% from beyond the arc.

Xavier Johnson also had 16 points and added eight assists for Pitt (10-3).

Canisius stayed in the game by dominating on the offensive glass. The Golden Griffins had 16 offensive rebounds, compared to six for Pitt and turned that into 18 second-chance points.

Majesty Brandon scored 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting while Jalanni White scored 14 points and cleaned up nine rebounds for Canisius (5-7).

BIG PICTURE

Canisius: Finished 5-6 in non-conference play, clinching the Griffins’ third consecutive losing record out of league action.

Pitt: At 10-3, the Panthers finished the first half of their schedule with exactly the same record that they did last season. They then finished the regular season by dropping 15 of their final 18 games. But this year’s early season schedule seems to have given the Panthers a tougher test, with games against Top 25 foes Florida State, Louisville and West Virginia and other major conference opponents in Northwestern, Kansas State and Rutgers.

UP NEXT

Canisius: Returns home after going 0-3 on a season-long, three-game road trip to face Manhattan on Friday. Canisius is 3-0 at home this season.

Pitt: Will host Wake Forest on Saturday. The Panthers are 1-1 in ACC play so far this season and have lost three straight to the Demon Deacons.