Pitt Wins Gritty Game Against Florida State
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers entered Tuesday night's matchup against Florida State knowing that they had to do everything in their power to avoid a dreaded trap game that, in all likelihood, would end its at-large hopes in the NCAA Tournament.
In an arduous battle, the Panthers prevailed with an 88-73 victory over the Seminoles. Blake Hinson broke the program record for three-pointers in a season while scoring 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting as Pitt as a whole shot 55.9% from the field and racked up 20 assists. The Seminoles drew 20 fouls and finished 24-of-31 from the free throw line, but the Panthers forced 12 turnovers and recorded five blocks while doing just enough on that end of the floor as part of a winning performance.
Hinson opened the scoring with a second chance three-pointer on Pitt's first possession of the contest. After committing four turnovers over the first five minutes, the Panthers fell behind 8-7 before the first media timeout at the 14:56 mark.
Florida State extended its lead to 12-7 following a 7-0 run before Jaland Lowe snapped it with a crafty layup. The Seminoles fell into a scoring drought of two minutes short after, allowing Pitt to cut it to 12-11 leading into the second media timeout at the 11:43 mark.
Hinson redeemed himself after two missed free throws with a corner three that pushed the Panthers ahead at the 11:15 mark. A Bub Carrington layup capped off a 9-0 run that Pitt parlayed into a 25-17 lead going into the third media timeout at the 7:13 mark.
A Lowe to Zack Austin alley-oop ended a near three-minute-long scoreless stretch by the Panthers as they continued to stifle Florida State's offense, helping them grow their lead to 29-22 at the 3:53 mark.
Gullermo Diaz Graham gifted Pitt its first double digit lead of the game on a three-pointer at the 3:33 mark. The Seminoles went without a field goal for 4:26 leading into a media timeout at the 1:28 mark as the Panthers carried a 38-26 lead.
A last second William Jeffress layup widened Pitt's advantage to 42-31 as the game went into halftime.
The Panthers struggled with ball security in the first half, turning the ball over eight times, but that didn't hinder their ability to score. Pitt shot 51.5% from the field and 38.5% from behind the arc to go with nine assists.
Pitt's defense was equally potent, holding the Seminoles to 36.4% shooting overall while ceding just eight points in the paint and forcing 11 turnovers.
Hinson led the Panthers with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting as Cam Corhen paced Florida State with 14 points, a majority of which came on his eight attempts from the charity stripe.
A quick five-point spurt from Carrington and Austin saw Pitt's lead jump to 47-31 within the first 1:19 of the second half. A pair of layups from Federiko Federiko shortly before the first media timeout of the half at the 16:58 mark made it 53-35.
A 7-0 run by the Seminoles cut their deficit to 11 points before Hinson came through with an and-one that provided the Panthers with some breathing room. Florida State eventually trimmed it to 59-50, however, as the game entered a media timeout at the 11:51 mark.
A pair of triples by Hinson, including one that gave him a single-season program record, made it 68-54 at the 9:27 mark. The Seminoles further reduced it to 71-61, but another Hinson three and Carrington layup afforded Pitt a 76-63 lead before a media timeout at the 5:43 mark.
A Hinson and-one extended the Panthers' lead to 14 points at the 4:22 mark before Lowe finished a floater that made it 83-67 leading into a media timeout at the 2:08 mark.
Pitt fended off Florida State's comeback efforts and cruised to a critical victory that leaves it in position to climb up both the ACC standings and the NCAA Tournament bubble with just one regular season contest remaining.
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