CHARLOTTE – Pitt carried a two-point lead into the final minute of play, but Notre Dame scored on a putback with 49 seconds remaining and was gifted a pair of free throws off another offensive board with 0.5 seconds remaining to come away with a 55-54 win in the opening game of the T. Rowe Price ACC Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. Jaland Lowe scored a game-high 17 points and Brandin Cummings gave the Panthers a two-point lead late in the contest with a clutch wing three as part of his nine-point effort.
Pitt forced an errant shot from Markus Burton in the closing seconds of the play and a Tae Davis putback attempt banged harmlessly off the backcourt as the buzzer sounded appearing to send the game into overtime. Both teams appeared surprised by a late whistle, but Davis was awarded two free throws following a monitor review with 0.5 second remaining. He made the first and missed the second before Pitt’s 75-foot final attempt came up short. Davis closed the game with 11 points, while Burton had 10 on the day, 12 below his ACC-leading season average.
Notre Dame grabbed a 25-22 lead at the half as the Panthers went just 8-of-28 (.286) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of action. Pitt used an 8-0 run to grab a 39-35 lead with 10:50 remaining on a Cameron Corhen putback in the lane.
Lowe’s driving layup with 5:09 to play gave the Panthers a 45-43 advantage and he added a twisting finish for a four-point lead heading into the final media timeout. Matt Allocco delivered a big three-point field goal to cut into the deficit and Julian Roper II had a putback with 2:52 remaining to give the Fighting Irish a one-point lead.
Corhen scored on the block on Pitt’s next possession before Davis made a pair of free throws. Cummings was fouled on a defensive rebound and converted both free throws to put the Panthers ahead 51-50 with 1:35 remaining.
Davis got to the free throw line again and converted both before Cummings drilled a wing three off a find from Lowe to spot Pitt to a 54-52 lead. The Panthers forced a Burton miss on the next possession but Nikita Konstantynovskyi slapped home the rebound to tie the game at 55.
The Panthers suffered a late clock turnover with 20 seconds remaining, but responded with a strong defensive effort before the late whistle gave Notre Dame the opportunity to end the hard fought game at the foul line.
Corhen finished with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting for the Panthers, but Pitt was unable to overcome a 4-of-22 (.182) effort from three-point range. Notre Dame was just 4-of-20 (.200) from three-point range and committed 17 turnovers, but used a 37-31 rebounding advantage to eek out the win.
Pitt concludes the season 17-15 overall, including a 3-6 mark in games decided by five points of fewer.
THANK YOU ISH & ZA
Ishmael Leggett and Zack Austin saw their Pitt careers come to a close in difficult fashion with the late game loss. Leggett finished with four points, a game-high seven rebounds, and three steals, while holding Burton to 4-of-14 shooting with six turnovers. The Prince George’s County, Md., native totaled 1,812 points, 703 rebounds, 285 assists, and 184 steals over 150 career games.
Austin knocked down a pair of threes and finished with eight points and four rebounds. He closes his career as the only player in NCAA history to record three seasons with over 50 three-point field goals and 50 blocks. He is also one of just three players in NCAA history to record at least 1,400 points, 700 rebounds, 200 threes, and 200 blocks in a career.
BACK AND FORTH
Tuesday’s contest featured 10 lead changes and seven ties and appeared to be heading into overtime before the late whistle. There were seven lead changes in the final three minutes of action.
Source: Pitt Athletics/Matt Plizga
