Pitt men’s basketball beats FSU, Hinson makes history

Senior forward Blake Hinson made history in Pitt men’s basketball’s 88-73 victory over Florida State. The senior forward finished with six three-pointers, putting him at 104 on the season and breaking Pitt’s single-season three-point record previously held by Ashton Gibbs. The win marks the Panthers’ 20th of the season.

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel made sure to give Hinson his praise after the Panthers earned their 11th ACC victory of the season.

“Shout out to Blake,” Capel said. “Congrats to him on setting the single-season record for threes. And just his overall game, he was unbelievable.”

First-year guard Jaland Lowe, who finished with the first double-double of his career, is happy to have a teammate like Hinson, who he called “one of a kind.”

“I’m trying to enjoy it right now,” Lowe said. “Because there’s not many people like Blake Hinson in this world. He’s one of a kind, he’s special and I’m grateful to have him.” 

The best way to describe the first half of this nine o’clock tip-off is physical and sloppy. Pitt and Florida State combined for a total of 19 turnovers and 18 fouls. 

The action started at 17:51 in the first half when both first-year guard Carlton “Bub” Carrington and Florida State redshirt junior guard Jamir Watkins earned a technical foul after pushing and shoving ensued during the Panthers’ inbound.

After the teams settled their disagreement, they continued to turn the ball over at high rates.

Pitt had five of their turnovers from the 17:57 mark to the 14:22 mark, which allowed Florida State to go on a 10-2 run, giving the Seminoles a 12-7 advantage.

But the Seminoles would return the favor, turning the ball over four times from the 11:46 mark to the 6:48 mark, letting the Panthers grab a 25-19 lead. 

The physicality returned at the end of the first half when Pitt junior forward WIll Jeffress got tangled up with Florida State forward Baba Miller while trying to deny a pass. The referees assessed both players with a foul.

But the half reached the pinnacle of its sloppiness when Florida State senior guard Darin Green Jr. threw the ball towards a distracted teammate, instead landing in the hands of Pitt head coach Jeff Capel. 

Despite the sloppy play, Pitt enjoyed a 42-31 halftime lead without any Panther player reaching double-digit scoring. The Panthers lacked a dominant scoring force in the first half, but Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton found that the group scoring for the Panthers made it even more challenging for the Seminoles.

“It’s very challenging when you have to guard so many people, who are capable of being offensively productive,” Hamilton said.

Junior center Federiko Federiko started the second half efficiently on offense, providing crucial points for the Panthers. The Helsinki, Finland native went on a 4-0 run of his own and gave Pitt an 18-point advantage, the Panthers’ largest lead of the game.

To the dismay of the Panthers, the Seminoles responded to this 53-35 deficit with a 14-3 run, worrying the home crowd.

But Hinson slowed the Seminole run down as he hit a clutch triple from the logo. The senior forward then followed this up with three more triples that hurt the Seminoles’ chances of making a comeback. 

Hinson, however, didn’t feel any added pressure to halt the Seminoles’ comeback efforts. 

“Just read and react,” Hinson said. “The ball comes to me, the rim’s there and I shoot.”

While Hinson slowed the Florida State comeback, he made history with three-pointer No. 103. And finished his record-breaking night with 27 points.

Hinson was proud of his record-breaking night.

“When I came back I wanted to come back with a purpose,” Hinson said. “Give back to the city what it gave to me.” 

The Seminoles, however, stayed in striking distance despite Hinson’s record-breaking performance. But with just under five minutes remaining, Carrington salted the game away. The Baltimore, Maryland native crossed up a defender and found a wide-open Federiko for a dunk that gave Pitt a 78-66 lead.

Pitt then coasted the rest of the way and defeated the Seminoles with ease in the final five minutes.

The Panthers finish out the regular season on Saturday night at 7 p.m. against NC State. It’s the last game of the regular season, as well as Senior Night for the Panthers’ senior players.