Pitt men’s basketball (16-8, 7-6 ACC) went into Tuesday evening with the opportunity to knock off No. 21 Virginia (19-6, 10-4 ACC) and end its 23-game home win streak. And the Panthers did just that. The Panthers defeated the Cavaliers 74-61, giving them a much-needed Quad 1 win to their NCAA tournament resume.
Pitt’s head coach commended his team’s ability to knock off a ranked team.
“We knew it would be an unbelievable challenge,” Capel said. “But we were excited about the opportunity. We just wanted to come in and seize
Senior forward Blake Hinson led the Panthers with 27 points. First-year guard Carlton “Bub” Carrington added nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists. First-year guard Jaland Lowe added 12 points.
Hinson has embraced the Panthers’ young guards all season and was proud of their performances on Tuesday night.
“I told y’all,” Hinson said. “I told y’all. Look back on the things I’ve said all season [about Carrington and Lowe]. That’s all I have to say.”
Despite the Cavaliers and Panthers’ vastly different playstyles, their offenses started the game hot. The Panthers relied heavily on Hinson who attempted their first five shots of the game. Sophomore center Federiko Federiko blocked a Cavalier and then followed up with a ferocious dunk to give the Panthers a 9-7 lead.
The Panthers followed up the dunk with three consecutive three-pointers. The final of the three, an and-one three-pointer from Carrington to give the Panthers a 19-13. Another three-pointer two possessions later from sophomore forward Guillermo Diaz Graham extended the Panthers’ lead to 7.
The Cavaliers quickly answered with a three-pointer of their own. The three-pointer led to a 7-2 Cavaliers run.
Federiko once again blocked a Cavalier to halt their momentum. One possession later, first-year guard Jaland Lowe nailed a three-pointer to regain the lead. Hinson nailed his first three-pointer of the first half on the next possession to give the Panthers a 6-0 run and a five-point lead.
But once again the Cavaliers answered. Virginia went on a 6-0 run of its own to regain a 31-30 lead with 42.5 seconds remaining in the first half. Diaz Graham drained another three-pointer to give the Panthers a 33-31 lead with 17 seconds remaining in the first half.
Diaz Graham attributes the Panthers’ resiliency to Capel.
“He just tells us to stay in the moment,” Diaz Graham said. “Stay focused. Don’t blink. The thing we said before the game was ‘don’t blink,’ and I think we did a pretty good job of staying in the game, taking the punches and fighting back.”
After a quick steal, junior guard Ishmael Leggett nailed two technical free throws after he was intentionally fouled to give the Panthers a 35-31 halftime lead.
Despite Hinson opening the second half with a three-pointer, the Cavaliers jumped out to a 9-3 run. Senior guard Reece Beekman led the way for the Cavaliers, scoring five of their nine points. An alley-oop connection from Beekman to first-year forward Blake Buchanan cemented the run and caused a Panthers’ timeout.
Beekman added three more to his point total with an and-one layup to extend the Cavaliers lead to 43-40.
The Panthers and Cavaliers went back and forth until Hinson nailed a three-pointer to give the Panthers a 50-49 lead.
The Panthers went on an 8-2 run cemented by a three-pointer from Hinson. The run gave the Panthers a 58-51 lead with 8:59 remaining in the second half.
The Panthers extended their lead to 10 after another Hinson three-pointer. Hinson’s 18 second-half points helped pull the Panthers through.
Hinson’s 27th point came on a putback layup after a Leggett miss. The layup gave the Panthers a 12-point lead and put the dagger in the contest. The Panthers coasted to the finish line.
The win marks the Panthers’ sixth win in their last seven contests. Capel wants the Panthers to operate with a one-game-at-a-time mindset.
“We’re 1-0 right now,” Capel said. “We’ll just enjoy this one tonight.”
The Panthers return to play Saturday night against Louisville at 6 p.m.