Panthers Quest for ACC Title Comes up Just Short at No 16 Miami

Saturday, March 4

Coral Gables, FL

6 PM

Pitt

21-10,14-6ACC

Miami

24-6,15-5ACC

Pittsburgh

Miami (FL)

Panthers Quest for ACC Title Comes up Just Short at No 16 Miami

3/4/2023 9:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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CORAL GABLES, Fla.— Pitt junior Blake Hinson had his 40-foot three-point attempt fall just short of a dramatic game-winning and ACC Tournament top-seed clinching moment as the Panthers dropped a hard fought 78-76 battle at No. 16 Miami Saturday evening. Hinson finished with a game-high 24 points with six three-point field goals but it was not enough to overcome a strong performance from the Hurricanes on the glass and a sizeable free throw discrepancy.

The Panthers trailed by seven with under 40 seconds remaining but Hinson scored a quick driving layup and then buried a difficult off balance three over a pair of defenders with 13 seconds remaining to set up the dramatic finish. Following a Pitt foul, Northad Omier missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give Pitt the final possession. Nike Sibande raced up court with the rebound and pitched the ball back to Hinson for a deep three that was on target before bounced off the top side of the rim and leading to a rebounding collision as time expired.

Pitt was hurt by offensive rebounding throughout the night as Miami posted a 25-7 edge in second chance points and a 14-3 edge in offensive rebounds. Miami also missed just three free throws going 20-of-23 (.870) from the line, while the Panthers were just 11-of-15 (.733) from the stripe.

Sibande had another strong effort off the bench with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal, while Jamarius Burton added 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field to go along with four assists. The tandem combined to play excellent defense on Miami's Isaiah Wong holding Miami's leading scorer to just one made field goal and nine points on the night. Nelly Cummings went 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and finished with 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.

Omier and Poplar had outstanding games for Miami to help hold off the Panthers and secure their share of the ACC regular season championship. Poplar made six threes on the night to finish with 18 points with Omier delivering 15 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. Jordan Miller added 17 points and eight rebounds, while going 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

Pitt trialed 42-38 at halftime following a tightly contested opening 20 minutes of action that featured seven lead changes and six ties. The Panthers grabbed a 25-20 lead on a finished at the rim by Burton before Miami responded with a 13-2 run sparked by three threes by Wooga Poplar.

With both posts on the bench with a pair of fouls, freshman Jorge Diaz Graham gave the Panthers a big lift over the final seven minutes of the half. He buried a pair of three-pointers and added three rebounds to help keep Pitt within striking distance. Miami benefitted from a 22-9 rebounding margin and a 16-2 edge in second half points at the break. The Hurricanes also went 11-of-13 (.845) from the foul line, while Pitt was just 2-of-3 from the line in the first half.

Sibande scored nine points off the bench, while Burton (8) and Hinson (7) combined for 15 points. The Panthers were 6-of-14 (.429) from beyond the arc and added 16 points in the paint in the half.

HINSON SECOND HALF SURGE
Hinson scored 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point range as Pitt nearly overcame a nine-point second half deficit. With six more three-point field goals on the night he now ranks fourth at Pitt with 88 three-pointers on the season.

MORE FROM THREE
The Panthers went 11-of-26 (.423) from beyond the arc and have now set school records for threes (292) and three-point attempts (811). Pitt is now 12-3 on the season when making 10 or more threes in a game.

TURNAROUND SEASON
Pitt concludes the regular season 21-10 overall and 14-6 in the ACC. The Panthers finished tied for third in the league standings after being picked 14^th in the preseason poll. Pitt's 10-game wins turnaround from a year ago is tied for the third best in program history, while its 8-win improvement in conference play is a school record.

UP NEXT
Pitt enters next week's ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., as the fifth-seed and will play the winner of Georgia Tech and Florida State Wednesday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.