Pitt Earns Scrappy Win at NC State
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers, winners of four of their last five, had played their way back into relevancy in the ACC ahead of a decisive road game the NC State Wolfpack. In a tightly contested and physical contest that came down to the final seconds, Pitt prevailed and came away with a 67-64 win.
Jaland Lowe led the Panthers with 20 points while the team shot 42.3% from the field and 18-of-20 from the free throw line. DJ Horne and DJ both turned in exceptional performances for the Wolfpack, combining for 44 points, but Pitt's advantage on the boards was just enough to push them over the edge.
Blake Hinson recorded the Panthers' first points of the game on a three-pointer at the 18:44 mark as they opened up a 9-7 lead before the first media timeout at the 15:34 mark. Burns scored four points of his own during that stretch as the Wolfpack looked to exploit the mismatch he held with Federiko Federiko down low.
Hinson, Bub Carrington and Lowe combined for seven quick points out of the break as Pitt extended its lead to 16-8. Lowe and Guillermo Diaz Graham later made it 20-11 after scoring on back-to-back possessions leading into an NC State timeout at the 12:51 mark.
Layups by Ishmael Leggett and Carrington gifted Pitt its first double-digit lead at the 10:52 mark as part of a 6-of-8 stretch. The Panthers followed that run up by going over four minutes without a field goal, allowing the Wolfpack to cut their deficit to 26-23 going into a media timeout at the 6:28 mark.
Hinson and Federiko both scored out of the break to help Pitt recover from its funk, but a Horne three-pointer tied things at 30-30 at the 3:41 mark. Threes from Hinson and Lowe put the Panthers up six points with less than two minutes remaining as Pitt ultimately finished the first half on an 8-0 run and carried a 38-30 lead into halftime.
The Panthers' first half performance was one of their best all season as they got the job done on both ends of the floor. They shot 50% from the field and 44.4% from behind the arc in addition to tallying eight assists on just four turnovers. Defensively, Pitt held its own and found ways to neutralize the Wolfpack for a majority of the half while also outrebounding them by eight.
Hinson and Lowe both finished with double digits in the first half on 13 and 11 points, respectively, while Horne led the way for NC State with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Lowe pushed Pitt's lead to 13 with five points on the first two possessions of the second half before the Wolfpack brought it back to 45-40 with an 8-0 run. A Zack Austin three-pointer gave the Panthers some breathing room as they possessed a 48-40 lead going into the first media timeout at the 14:44 mark.
Pitt went back up double digits after a pair of Lowe free throws, but NC State cut its deficit to five points at the 13:21 mark following baskets from Horne and Ben Middlebrooks. The two sides went on to trade baskets as the Panthers took a 52-47 lead into the second media timeout at the 11:34 mark.
With Pitt in a scoring drought of over three minutes, the Wolfpack made it a one-point game at the 8:16 mark after a pair of layups by Burns. Casey Morsell proceeded to tie the game at 56-56 after a corner three as the game went into a media timeout at the 7:07 mark.
Burns gave the Wolfpack the lead at the 6:30 mark with the Panthers in the middle of a three-minute-long scoreless stretch. Hinson tied it at 58-58 with a layup before Leggett gave Pitt the lead with one of his own at the 4:43 mark. Horne responded with a mid-range jumper on the next possession, knotting things up at 60-60 before a media timeout at the 3:48 mark.
A second chance layup from Leggett out of the stoppage once again placed the Panthers in front before Hinson made it a three-point game at the 1:59 mark after splitting a pair of free throws.
Horne knocked down two free throws on the following possession, making it 63-62 with 1:44 left. Federiko came up clutch with a second chance layup with 30 seconds left before Mohamed Diarra finished one of his own with 9.6 seconds left as Pitt held a 65-64 lead.
Lowe didn't let the gravity of the situation affect him as he hit two free throws and made it 67-64 before the Wolfpack's final possession of the game with under six seconds to go in the contest. Pitt fouled NC State, though the Wolfpack couldn't execute as the Panthers earned a thrilling victory and extended their winning streak to three games in conference play.
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