Just the pits: Panthers lose third in a row

A win just wasn’t in the cards for Pitt yesterday.

The Panthers could not stop No. 18… A win just wasn’t in the cards for Pitt yesterday.

The Panthers could not stop No. 18 Louisville’s offensive machine and lost their third consecutive game, 75-73, in front of a raucous Petersen Events Center crowd.

Pitt played catch-up most of the game and never regained the lead after falling behind, 18-16, with 11:34 remaining in the first half.

Louisville’s senior center David Padgett had 21 points and six rebounds and backup point guard Edgar Sosa added 18 to pace the Cardinals.

Louisville (22-6, 12-3 Big East) shot a whopping 58 percent from the field, the second highest shooting percentage against Pitt since Jamie Dixon took over as head coach in 2003.

“We won it with our offense,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “Our guys did a great job passing the ball and working inside to out.”

Louisville’s bench contributed 32 points and the Cardinals scored 40 points in the paint.

But the Panthers didn’t go quietly. Pitt (19-8, 7-7) twice fell behind by as many as eight points, but an 8-2 run at the beginning of the second half and a 7-2 run a few minutes later propelled the Panthers back into the contest.

Pitt cut Louisville’s lead to two points, 70-68, with 36 seconds left when Pitt’s Ronald Ramon made a 3-pointer, but the Cardinals held off Pitt’s furious surge to win their seventh consecutive game and their 13th in the past 15 contests.

“It’s a tough game to lose, especially at home,” said Dixon. “We played well, but [Louisville] played better.”

Fittingly, it was Padgett who iced the game for Louisville in the game’s waning moments.

The 6-foot-11-inch center made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 36 seconds, including two with 26 seconds left.

Padgett’s length made him tough to guard in the paint, and his height enabled him to see over the Panthers all game. He found several cutters for easy layups and dunks down the stretch that kept Louisville in front.

“It’s like having a 7-foot coach on the floor,” Pitino said.

Pitt forward Sam Young had 20 points and seven rebounds. Young hit multiple big shots, including three 3-pointers. The 6-foot-6-inch junior also had five assists.

Young’s post partner, 6-foot-7-inch center DeJuan Blair, also had 20 points. The powerhouse freshman nabbed 11 rebounds, but his challenged layup with 20 seconds left rattled out and Pitt’s upset bid washed away with the miss.

“The guys in the post gave us everything we needed,” Pitt guard Levance Fields said. “We just didn’t do enough [on the perimeter].

Fields made a return to Pitt’s starting lineup after coming back from a broken foot on Dec. 29. The 5-foot-10-inch playmaker had been coming off the bench in the previous two games.

He struggled from the field, shooting 4 of 13. Fields did, however, easily break Louisville’s fullcourt pressure with his ball-handling abilities. He finished with eight points, seven assists, four assists and three steals in 37 minutes.

“I couldn’t make any shots on the perimeter,” said Fields, who missed all four of his 3-point attempts. “We have to start stringing it together better.”

Ramon had 11 points. He made three 3-pointers in six tries, erasing the bad taste from his scoreless effort in Pitt’s 82-70 loss at Notre Dame on Thursday.

Pitt’s freefall has some questioning the Panthers’ prospects for making the NCAA Tournament field next month. The Panthers are .500 in the Big East.

Another key factor – the team’s record in its last 12 games going into the NCAA Tournament – doesn’t look too endearing, either. Pitt is 6-6 in its last 12 contests.

“As far as that goes, we’re just trying to get a win,” said Fields, who has led the Panthers to the previous two NCAA tournaments. “Without question, I think we’re an NCAA Tournament team. We just have to find a win.”

Pitino agreed with Fields.

“No question about it,” Pitino responded when asked if Pitt was a Tournament team. “One-hundred percent. Blair is terrific. Young is terrific. They have all the pieces to be a fantastic team.