Pitt defeated Gardner-Webb 67-50 on Saturday, but an otherwise standard non-conference game was made historic by the performance of Pitt small forward Justin Champagnie, who posted his second consecutive 20-point, 20-rebound game. Champagnie not only made history as the first Pitt player to post back-to-back 20-20 games, but he also placed himself in the elite company of two NBA stars.
More specifically, Champagnie scored 24 points and came up with 21 rebounds over a span of 32 minutes on the court. And on what was a slow day for the Panthers offense, he almost single-handedly willed the team to a win, as Xavier Johnson was the only other Pitt player to score in double figures.