Nelly Cummings made six 3-pointers to highlight his season-high 24-point performance and propel host Pittsburgh to a 91-66 victory over visiting Sacred Heart on Saturday.

Cummings added six rebounds, five assists and four steals to fuel the Panthers (7-4) to their sixth win in the last seven games.

Pittsburgh’s Blake Hinson collected 19 points and 11 rebounds, Greg Elliott had 18 points and four steals and Federiko Federiko recorded a season-high 17 points, 14 boards and three blocks.

The Panthers enjoyed a decisive 54-26 edge on the glass — including a 20-6 advantage at the offensive end. The domination in the paint eventually wore down the Pioneers, who were outscored 50-30 in the second half.

Pittsburgh, which scored a season-high point total, played without Jamarius Burton due to knee inflammation. Burton has contributed 15.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this season.

Raheem Solomon collected 18 points and six rebounds and Aidan Carpenter added 16 points for the Pioneers (5-6), who have dropped three in a row.

Carpenter’s layup trimmed Pittsburgh’s lead to 56-54 before Federiko and Cummings combined to give the Panthers some breathing room. Federiko converted a three-point play and a putback while Cummings drained three 3-pointers to stake Pittsburgh to a 72-59 lead with 10:16 to play.

The Panthers kept their foot on the gas, with Cummings setting up Hinson for a layup in transition to push the advantage to 17 points with 7:44 to play.

The Pioneers didn’t seriously threaten the rest of the way.

Pittsburgh bolted out of the blocks with a 12-3 lead before Sacred Heart answered with 15 of the game’s next 17 points to take an 18-14 lead.

The teams jockeyed for the advantage throughout the rest of the half before the Panthers scored nine of the final 12 points to secure a 41-36 lead at intermission. Federiko made a dunk and joined Cummings with a pair of free throws before Nike Sibande converted a three-point play for Pittsburgh.

–Field Level Media