For the third straight home game the Pittsburgh Panthers (10-3) needed a few minutes to find their groove. A turnover and four missed three-point attempts allowed the Colgate Raiders (8-5) to sprint out to a 5-0 lead.
Just like he did against the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks, freshman point guard Xavier Johnson would be the first player to put Pitt on the board after trailing 0-5. While the offense found their rhythm as the half progressed, it was the Panthers defense that propelled them to an eventual 42-23 halftime lead.
Pitt scored 17 first half points off of 12 Colgate turnovers, and collected 12 points on fast breaks.