Northern Illinois Huskies vs Pittsburgh Panthers Box Score on Dec 05, 2020

Justin Champagnie had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Xavier Johnson added 15 points and seven assists as Pittsburgh routed the visiting Northern Illinois Huskies 89-59 on Saturday.

Delaware transfer Ithiel Horton, who entered averaging five points per game with two 3-pointers, scored 15 points on 5 of 10 3-pointers for the Panthers (2-1), who shot 48.3 percent (14 of 29) from the 3-point line after entering at 26 percent with 15 makes in the first two games.

Trendon Hankerson scored 18 points for the Huskies (0-3), who have opened the season with three straight losses for the first time since 2011-12.

Pitt never trailed, taking a 10-7 lead on Au'Diese Toney's 3-pointer with 16:44 left in the first half. Champagnie and Johnson then took over, combining for 28 points over the remainder of the half to provide the Panthers a 45-29 halftime lead.

Horton drained three shots from beyond the arc in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second stanza to extend the lead to 24. The advantage blossomed to 30 on a follow dunk by Champagnie.

Pitt, which led by as many as 36, got 15 points, five assists and three rebounds from Toney.

Hankerson scored all of his 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting, including 3 of 6 from the arc, in the first half for the Huskies, who shot 13 of 26 from the field but were behind by 16 due to nine turnovers and nine 3s by the Panthers.

The Knights couldn't keep up the pace after the break, making just 7 of 27 shots.

Hankerson, who led the Mid-American Conference in 3-point shooting last year (46 percent), finished 4 of 8 from the arc and added four rebounds and three assists.

Darius Beane finished with 11 points and drained all three of his shots from long range for the Huskies.

Horton averaged 13.2 points with 79 points as a freshman for Delaware two years ago.

--Field Level Media