Pitt Out of Luck, Loses to Notre Dame

The Pitt Panthers lost their ninth ACC game of the season to Notre Dame.

Feb 22, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel watches in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers' struggles continued in South Bend, Ind. as they suffered a 76-72 defeat to Notre Dame.

This is the fifth straight game the Panthers have lost in Purcell Pavillion and dropped themselves to 16-11 overall and 7-9 in the ACC.

It also ended a two-game winning streak for Pitt, who defeated Miami, 74-65 on Feb. 15 and Syracuse, 80-69 on Feb. 18, both at home.

Sophomore guard Markus Burton and junior forward Tae Davis, the Fighting Irish’s stars, led them to victory, scoring 20 points and 21 points, respectively. 

Freshman guard Cole Certa was also critical in Notre Dame earning the victory as he scored a career-high 12 points off of the bench for them, with three 3-pointer.s

Junior forward Cameron Corhen was the Panthers' star in the first half against the Fighting Irish as he scored 14 points. Senior guard Ishmael Leggett did what he could to keep Pitt in it as he scored 15 points in the second half.

Notre Dame made their first four shots from the floor to start the game, but for every shot they made, the Panthers forced a turnover. 

The Fighting Irish’s four turnovers combined with seven points from the Panthers’ frontcourt, junior forward Guillermo Diaz Graham and Corhen, let the Panthers only trail 8-7.

Notre Dame’s struggles protecting the basketball only continued, turning the ball over three more times in their next five possession. Pitt’s offense combined that with continuing to feed Corhen who earned four more points, bringing up his total to eight and giving Pitt a 13-10 lead.

Corhen’s wasn’t done at just eight early points, eight and a half minutes into the game, he was tied with the Fighting Irish at 10 apiece and his team leading by five. 

But Pitt wouldn’t just run away with the game as sophomore guard Markus Burton scored five quick points for Notre Dame and junior forward Tae Davis also banked in a three-pointer. But for every jab Notre Dame gave Pitt, they responded and had a 20-19 lead with just under eight minutes left in the first half.

The Panthers just couldn’t shake the Fighting Irish off of their back to end the first half, they took a 23-20 lead, but Notre Dame responded with a 6-0 run with Pitt turning the ball over on consecutive possessions. 

Pitt’s frontcourt, who scored 67% of Pitt’s points in the first half, responded to the 6-0 Notre Dame run with a 5-0 run, including Corhen bringing his total up to 14 and Diaz Graham making his second three of the game. 

The Fighting Irish and Panthers would go into the halftime break tied at 30 apiece with the Fighting Irish shooting 56.5% from the field in the first half and the Panthers shooting 63.2% from the field. 

Pitt allowing four offensive rebounds to Notre Dame and not grabbing a single one themselves made it easier for Notre Dame to keep pace with Pitt. 

Notre Dame started well out of the halftime break, taking a quick 34-30 lead. But Pitt settled the game down and went on a 6-2 run that included four more points from Corhen to tie the game up at 36 with just under 16 minutes left in regulation.

Redshirt senior forward Zack Austin took his first shot attempt of the game over 27 minutes into the game, but that didn’t matter for Austin as he made his three-point attempt to give Pitt a 42-41 advantage. 

But Certa, who made just two three-pointers in his collegiate career coming into the game, made two consecutive three-pointers for Notre Dame. Leggett scored a two-pointer during the run, but his team trailed 47-44.

Certa’s 3-point barrage continued after the media timeout, scoring another three-pointer and then going two-for-two from the free-throw line. But Lowe gave the Panthers a response to his hot hand. Lowe earned an and-one, scored a driving layup and found Leggett wide open on a fast-break. 

Lowe’s run gave Pitt a lead for a moment, but Notre Dame then responded with a two-point basket, giving it a 54-53 lead.

The Fighting Irish took their biggest lead of the game after Corhen went 1-of-2 from the line, scoring his 19th point. The Fighting Irish’s stars together went on a quick 5-0 run, with junior forward Tae Davis making a layup and Burton hitting a three in transition, forcing head coach Jeff Capel to call a timeout. 

Capel’s timeout didn’t help Pitt out, Notre Dame extended their lead to a nine-point lead, good for an 11-2 run. Burton scored four more points and Davis scored the other two points for Notre Dame. 

Pitt cut the Notre Dame lead down to two with eight seconds left, but it still wasn’t enough as Notre Dame made enough free throws to fend Pitt off.

The Panthers return home for their next matchup, as they host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Feb. 25.

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