Pitt falters late, cannot topple No. 11 Louisville, 67-60

Despite leading for more than 23 minutes and receiving a career performance from Ryan Luther, Pitt dropped a home matchup to Louisville on Wednesday night, 67-60.

Luther finished with a game-high 17, including some key 3-pointers, but Louisville made its final nine baskets to lock up its second win over Pitt (19-8, 8-7 ACC) of the season.

Pitt utilized a balanced offense — four players scored in double figures — but could not find the key shots it needed late, and made only one of its final seven shots.

On Pitt’s first offensive possession, James Robinson faked a shot to get Louisville’s Trey Lewis caught in the air, drawing contact. He hit both free throws.

Pitt scored on each of its first four possessions. Robinson pushed the pace on a missed Louisville shot and hit Jamel Artis for a transition three to go up 9-2.

Louisville responded with a 6-0 run, with Jaylen Johnson working against Sheldon Jeter in the post.

Jeter was the team’s first substitution, but he picked up two quick fouls, forcing Jamie Dixon to cut his first-half minutes.

Ryan Luther ended a 12-1 Cards run by hitting a three to bring Pitt back within one. A couple possessions later, Luther pump-faked at the top of the key and drove, drawing a foul and hitting the basket.

Each trip on offense, Louisville consistently looked to bang the ball inside. The strategy earned a few easy layups and put a couple Pitt bigs in foul trouble.

As the half continued, Pitt adopted and executed that strategy, putting some of the Cardinals’ key players in foul trouble. Chinanu Onuaku and Trey Lewis each picked up two with over six minutes remaining in the first half.

Meanwhile, Luther continued to spark the Pitt offense, reentering the game and cutting for an easy layup. He scored eight first-half points.

Louisville’s leading scorer, Damion Lee, did not get on the scoreboard until 14:56 remaining in the first half. He averages 16.8 points per game and scored 12 on Wednesday.

Robinson broke a 3:33 scoreless stretch for both teams when he drove to the hoop and drew a foul, nailing both free throws. Pitt maintained a narrow lead most of the half, with Robinson’s shots extending it to 29-26.

But Quentin Snider gave Louisville the advantage late, hitting a 3-pointer with less than a minute left to put the visitors up 31-29.

Matz Stockman hit a layup and pushed the score to 33-29, Louisville, at halftime. Pitt shot 13 more free throws than the visitors, but turned the ball over nine times compared to Louisville’s four.

But Pitt regained the lead in the first two minutes of the second half with Rafael Maia dunk, fast-break Robinson layup and Artis three.

Luther continued making an impact in the second half, tipping in an Artis miss to put Pitt back on top during a 3:00 Louisville scoring drought.

Ryan drove the home crowd to its feet chanting his name, hitting an open three and drawing a foul on back-to-back possessions. His efforts, plus a Chris Jones jumper, helped Pitt open up a 48-40 lead on a 9-0 run.

The Cardinals responded with a quick 8-0 run of their own, bookended by Lee and David Levitch threes.

Michael Young, who was quiet for most of the game, scored six straight for the Panthers to hang with Louisville, who suddenly could not miss from long range. Deng Adel and Lee threes matched against Young’s inside work to keep the game tied 58-58 with less than three minutes remaining.

Louisville used a late 8-0 run, making its final nine shots to pull away for the win. Pitt, meanwhile, made only one of its final seven shots.

The Panthers next face No. 15 Duke on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.