PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Pitt (9-3) overcame a slow start, forced 27 turnovers and ran past visiting Binghamton men's basketball (5-7) 79-53 Friday night at the Petersen Events Center.

The Bearcats led 9-5 six minutes into the contest as the Panthers misfired on their first six shots. But the ACC members found their rhythm and used a commanding 35-9 run over 13 minutes to build a 41-21 halftime cushion.

Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms scored 13 of BU's first-half points and wound up with a game-high 23. It was the fifth time this season he has eclipsed the 20-point margin.  

In the second half, Binghamton scored seven of the first nine points and used a 14-8 run to bring the margin back to 14 points (49-35 with 14:04 left), with Sessoms collecting five of those in a 13-second span. But the Panthers reeled off a 16-0 run to put the game out of reach.  

Junior guard Jevon Brown scored a season-high seven points, senior forward Pierre Sarr had nine rebounds and freshman forward George Tinsley added seven points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

The Bearcats were near-even on the glass against the bigger Panthers (39-38) and were only minus-six on the scoreboard in the second half. But the season-high turnovers were too much to overcome. 

Binghamton is off for nine days before hosting longtime regional foe Hartwick on Dec. 29 at the Events Center. That will be BU's final non-conference game before America East play starts on Jan. 4.