PITTSBURGH — Barry Dunning Jr. went 7 for 11 from 3-point range and scored 23 points off the bench to lead Pittsburgh to an 84-50 win over Bucknell on Monday night at the Peterson Events Center. Now 2-3 on the season, the Bison traded runs with the Panthers (4-1) throughout the first half, but Pitt broke open a 13-point game at intermission with a dominant second half.

Playing at Pitt for the first time since a 69-66 win over the seventh-ranked Panthers in 2004-05, the Bison were held to 27.7% shooting in this one, while the Panthers converted at a 50.8% clip. Pitt went 13 for 25 from the 3-point arc while holding Bucknell to 6-for-21. 

Ruot Bijiek led the Bison with 11 points, while Amon Dorries tallied nine and Aleksander Pachucki a career-high eight off the bench.

Dunning, who came into the game 2 for 15 from the field and 1 for 8 from the arc on the season, hit 4 of 5 from deep and scored 14 points in the first half as the Panthers opened up a 38-25 lead at the break. The game got away from the Bison in the early stages of the second half, as a 1-for-11 shooting drought led to a 22-2 Pitt run. Dunning hit two more threes in that stretch, including a bank shot off the glass with a hand in his face.  

The Panthers held the Bison to 5 for 25 shooting in the second half, although Bucknell did a good job getting to the foul line. The Bison were 18 for 23 on the night and 13 for 14 in the second half, while Pitt finished 9-for-14.

The Bison led on three different occasions in the first seven minutes, the last after Aleksander Pachucki’s 3-pointer made it 11-9. Pitt quickly answered with a 12-0 run, capped by a Dunning trey, to take a 21-11 lead. A 3-pointer from Ruot Bijiek and a floating bank shot in traffic from Brandon McCreesh brought the Bison back within 21-17, but Dunning hit three more from downtown in the last six minutes to help the Panthers stretch the margin back into double figures.

Pittsburgh 84, Bucknell 50

BUCKNELL (2-3)

Ruot Bijiek 3-9 4-4 11, Amon Dorries 1-7 7-8 9, BRandon McCreesh 3-5 0-1 7, Jayden Williams 1-5 0-0 3, Achile Spadone 1-5 0-0 3, Aleksander Pachucki 2-5 3-4 8, Jacob Meachem 1-3 2-2 5, Josh Fulton 1-2 0-0 2, Grgur Brcic 0-5 1-2 1, Patrick O’Brien 0-0 1-2 1, Quin Berger 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-47 18-23 50.

PITTSBURGH (4-1)

Cameron Corhen 3-8 5-6 11, Omari Witherspoon 5-8 0-2 11, Brandin Cummings 4-7 2-2 11, Roman Siulepa 3-5 1-2 7, Damarco Minor 2-3 0-0 6, Barry Dunning Jr. 8-13 0-0 23, Nojus Indrusaitis 4-8 1-2 11, Papa Amadou Kante 1-3 0-0 2, Kieran Mullen 1-4 0-0 2, Macari Moore 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-61 9-14 84.

Halftime: Pittsburgh 38-25. 3-point goals: Bucknell 6-21 (Bijiek 1-6, McCreesh 1-2, Williams 1-1, Spadone 1-3, Pachucki 1-4, Meachem 1-2, Berger 0-1, Amon 0-2), Pittsburgh 13-25 (Dunning Jr. 7, Minor 2-3, Witherspoon 1-2, Cummings 1-3, Siulepa 0-1, Mullen 0-1, Corhen 0-1). Fouled out: Bucknell-none; Pittsburgh-Cummings. Rebounds: Bucknell 29 (McCreesh 5), Pittsburgh 42 (Amadou Kante 11). Assists: Bucknell 11 (McCreesh 3), Pittsburgh 20 (Witherspoon 5). Technical fouls: Bucknell-none; Pittsburgh-none. Total fouls: Bucknell 14, Pittsburgh 22.