The first three possessions were a harbinger for the entire first half. After Jack Nunge (18/3/3) won the tap, Xavier immediately went to Jerome Hunter (14/5/2) for the first basket of the game. The next time down, Nunge kicked it to Adam Kunkel (15/4/3), who racked out from three. Staked to a 5-0 lead, Souley Boum (14/7/5) attacked the rim and got turned aside by Greg Elliott.
And that was basically the story of the half. Jerome Hunter had an answer for everything Pitt threw at him in the form of Blake Hinson (18/6/1), with the heralded Pitt forward not making inroads into the game until late in the second half.