After defeating St. John’s by 20 points on Wednesday, the Pitt men’s basketball team wanted to… After defeating St. John’s by 20 points on Wednesday, the Pitt men’s basketball team wanted to build momentum for the Big East tournament by closing out the regular season with a win.

But after battling back from a 14-point halftime deficit to take a one-point lead with three-minutes left, the Panthers couldn’t hold on for a win, falling to Connecticut 74-65.

The Panthers grabbed a 61-60 advantage with 2:51 left in the game off a Travon Woodall 3-pointer, but Connecticut tied the game with a free throw on the next possession and then reclaimed the lead, 63-61, on a Roscoe Smith layup.

Shabazz Napier hit a 3-pointer after Pitt timeout to give Connecticut a 66-61 lead and the Panthers wouldn’t recover.

J.J. Moore led Pitt with 16 points, reaching double figures for the fifth-straight game. Ashton Gibbs and Lamar Patterson each scored 12 points, while Nasir Robinson added 11 and Woodall scored 10.

Napier scored 23 points for Connecticut while Smith added 14 points and seven rebounds.