Pitt Falls in Close Matchup vs. Louisville

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers missed late opportunities and fell to Louisville in a close matchup at the Petersen Events Center.

Pitt falls to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in the ACC, making this is their second straight loss, after a 76-47 defeat to No. 4 Duke on the road on Jan. 7. It also ended a five-game winning streak over Louisville (12-5 overall, 5-1 ACC), which started back in January 2022.

Louisville started out with a 5-0 lead, thanks to sophomore forward James Scott making a layup and senior guard Reyne Smith making a 3-pointer.

Pitt quickly responded, going on a 15-2 run over 2:30, earning a 15-7 advantage and forcing a Louisville timeout.

Junior forward Cam Corhen led Pitt on the run with two dunks and a converted and-one layup opportunity for seven points, while redshirt senior forward Zack Austin and senior guard Ishmael Leggett each made a 3-pointer.

The Cardinals then went on a 17-3 run over six minutes, buring a Panthers timeout and retaking the lead at 24-18.

Senior guard Chucky Hepburn scored seven points on two free throws, a layup and and a converted and-one opportunity to lead the Cardinals, while fifth year guard/forward Terrence Edwards Jr. made a 3-pointer and a layup to add five points.

Pitt eventually got things going, outscoring Louisville 16-11 to close the half, but still trailed 35-34 at the break.

The Panthers struggled in the first half on the glass, as they allowed the Cardinals to have a 10-2 advantage on offensive rebounds and a 14-3 advantage on second chance points.

Corhen led Pitt with 11 points, making 5-of-8 shots from the field, while sophomore guard Jaland Lowe was second with nine points.

Cardinals fifth year guard J'Vonne Hadley scored a layup and a 3-pointer right out of halftime.

The Panthers got two foul shots each from Lowe and graduate student guard Damian Dunn. Edwards would hit a 3-pointer for the Cardinals, but the Panthers responded with two of their own, from Leggett and Dunn, giving them a 44-43 lead at the under-16 media timeout.

Lowe would keep Pitt going, making two layups and four free throws, while Louisville got scoring from four different players, keeping it a 52-50 lead for Pitt at the under-12 media timeout.

Dunn scored a layup out of the timeout, but then the Cardinals went on a 10-3 run to take a 60-57 lead, as Smith made two 3-pointers. The Panthers would take the lead back after Lowe hit a turnaround, fadeaway jumper and then Dunn hit a 3-pointer, 62-60 with seven minutes left.

Louisville scored seven straight points out of the timeout, as Smith made a layup and then Hadley made a layup and a 3-pointer, getting a 67-60 lead.

Pitt responded with two free throws from Austin and a 3-pointer from Dunn, but Scott dunked and then Hepburn hit a corner 3-pointer to give Louisville a 72-67 advantage at the final media timeout.

Lowe made three free throws and after a defensive stop, Austin hit a 3-pointer in the corner, as the Panthers took a 73-72 lead, with the Cardinals burning a timeout at the 2:44 mark.

Smith hit a 3-pointer out of the timeout, but Leggett would make both free throws to tie it back up at 75-75.

Smith then responded with a mid-range jumper and a contested 3-pointer, but Leggett hit a 3-pointer himself, cutting it to 80-78 with 1:06 left, as head coach Jeff Capel took a timeout.

Hadley missed a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, but immediately got the offensive rebound. Hepburn would score on the next possesion on a layup, giving the Cardinals a 82-78 victory.

Pitt will try to end their losing, as they travel to face Florida State on Jan. 15 for a 9:00 p.m. tip-off.