Pitt-Penn State played Wednesday, intensity was there

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A little talking between Pitt and Penn State is normal, it’s going on right now on social media and likely other venues. It escalated as a former Penn Stater used it to spark his Nittany Lions alums (Happy Valley Hoopers) to a comeback 85-82 win over Pitt alums (Zoo Crew) in The Basketball Tournament at the Petersen Events Center on Wednesday.

Members of the current Pitt basketball team showed up, along with recent players Bub Carrington, Blake Hinson and Justin Champagnie to support their old teammates. Some talking started during the game led by some Panthers and matched by Penn State guard Samuel Sessoms and a few others.

It got to the point where the chirping escalated and Sessoms led the Penn State team at halftime to walk over to where the Pitt players were standing behind one of the baskets. Nothing physical or close to physical came of it, but Sessoms said he used it for a purpose.

“I did it just to get a spark behind my team,” Sessoms said. “It’s basketball at the end of the day. We are not going to fight on the court. We are not going to meet up afterwards and fight. It gave us something to fight for.”

The Penn State team outscored Pitt by nine in the final quarter to win on a walk-off layup by Sessoms.

“It was a lot of passion,” Sessoms said. “We knew their players, knew their coaching staff. It was really an intra-state thing.”

“For us, we didn’t know them much, they didn’t know us much,” said Zoo Crew guard Nelly Cummings. “It was just lingering that it was supposed to be a rivalry and we just kind of played into that. If you know, you know and it felt like that.”

“They had their fans and everybody here,” said Zoo Crew head coach Gilbert Brown. “Whether it’s Penn State, West Virginia, Pitt doesn’t really care for them too much. The rivalry was there and you could feel it on the court as well.”

So much Pitt-Penn State conversation over the last few days after comments made by Pitt head football coach Pat Narduzzi about the Panthers desire to play Penn State and PSU’s alleged reluctance. It was fun to see that it still mattered between a pair of teams that had little, if any, on-court history.

Sessoms led all scorers with 27 points, 60% from the floor with nine assists. Cummings led the former Panthers with 23 points and six assists. Mike Young with 15 points, Ryan Luther with 12 points. The Panthers had previously beaten a team of former West Virginia players and players from the Philadelphia area.