PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Pitt men's basketball team opened the 2026-27 season Saturday with an exhibition game at Providence. Three players scored in double figures for the Panthers, but they could not overcome the Friars' hot 3-point shooting in an 87-64 defeat.
Jonathan Powell, a transfer from North Carolina, scored a team-high 15 points, while Georgia Tech transfer Baye Ndongo added 13 points and seven rebounds. A'lahn Sumler, playing in his first Pitt game after transferring from Charleston Southern, scored 12 points and added five assists.
Naithan George, a Syracuse transfer, added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting and four assists, while freshman Chase Foster had eight points and four rebounds.
The Friars made 15 3-point field goals and outscored the Panthers 34-22 in points in the paint, and outrebounded Pitt, 42-26. Providence finished shooting 47.1 percent (33 of 70) from the field, while holding Pitt to 42.9 percent from the field (21 of 49). The Friars took advantage of the Panthers' 16 turnovers, scoring 23 points.
Pitt trailed by 15 in the first half but trimmed the deficit to five multiple times and was down just nine at the half. Powell's 3-pointer with 12:28 to play got the Panthers within five at 57-52, but an 8-0 run by Providence over the next 74 seconds gave the Friars the cushion they needed to close out the game.
Miles Byrd led four Providence double-figure scorers, scoring a game-high 17 points and adding four 3-point field goals.
