Pitt
15-8,6-6ACC
NC State
15-8,7-5ACC
Pitt Earns Hard Fought Win at NC State, 67-64
2/7/2024 10:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH – Freshman guard Jaland Lowe scored a team-high 20 points and sealed the game with a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining as Pitt secured a 67-64 win over NC State Wednesday evening at PNC Arena. The Panthers won their third straight game to improve to 15-8 overall and 6-6 in the ACC.
Blake Hinson added 16 points, including 13 in the opening half, while Carlton Carrington added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Pitt also got some late game heroics on both ends of the floor from Ishmael Leggett and Federiko Federiko. Leggett finished with eight points and six rebounds, including a putback off an offensive rebound to give the Panthers a 62-60 lead with 3:40 remaining.
Federiko grabbed 11 rebounds and had two blocks in the game and had an offensive rebound and putback with 30 seconds remaining for a 65-62 lead.
Pitt grabbed an early 9-7 lead as Hinson recorded five points, two rebounds, and an assist in the opening four minutes of play. The Panthers used an 11-3 run to take a 20-11 lead and force an NC State timeout after a Lowe short jumper in the lane.
Pitt went through a four-minute drought without a field goal and DJ Horne hit a pair of threes to get NC State within 26-23 with 6:28 left in the half. Horne hit his fourth three of the half to tie the game at 30-30 with under four minutes remaining before Pitt locked in on the defensive end.
The Panthers closed the half on an 8-0 run holding the Wolfpack without a field goal over the final 3:41. Hinson hit his third three-pointer at the 3:13 mark and Lowe added a three and a driving layup to close out the scoring and send Pitt into the break with a 38-30 lead.
Pitt shot 50 percent (14-of-28) from the field in the opening half as Hinson (13), Lowe (11), and Carrington (8) combined for 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting. The Panthers also held an 18-10 edge on the glass as Leggett came off the bench to grab five rebounds in 13 minutes of action.
Lowe scored the first five points of the second half as Pitt pushed out to a 13-point lead (45-32) with 18 minutes remaining and gave the Panthers a 50-40 cushion on a pair of free throws with just under 15 minutes left.
The Panthers went through a nearly seven minute drought without a field goal as NC State clawed back and tie the game at 56 with 7:07 left in the contest. The Wolfpack pulled ahead 58-56 on a DJ Burns post up, but Pitt answered right back with a Hinson layup through traffic.
Leggett scored on a twisting layup at the 4:43 mark and answered a Horne bucket with his offensive rebounds putback on a Pitt possession that featured a pair of missed threes and offensive boards. Federiko added his layup off a Carrington miss in the lane and Lowe salted the game away with two more free throws in the closing seconds.
Horne finished with a game-high 25 points for NC State, while Burns added 19.
JLOWE ON POINT
Lowe finished with 20 points, for his second 20+ points scoring game and sixth double-figure effort in ACC play. He was 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-5 from the foul line for the game.
BIG ON THE BOURDS
Pitt won the rebounding battle 37-28 to move to 13-2 on the season when outrebounding the opposition. The Panthers rank second in the ACC in rebound margin.
OVERCOMING FIELD GOAL WOES
Pitt grabbed the key ACC win despite struggling from the field in the second half of play. The Panthers went just 8-of-24 (.333) from the field, including 1-of-12 (.083) from three-point range. Pitt used a terrific effort (18-of-20, .900) from the foul line, including 11-of-11 from freshman guards Lowe and Carrington, to offset the shooting woes from the field.
ON THE BREAK
Pitt posted a 16-4 edge in fast break points as the Panther big men were able to beat their counterparts down the floor to create driving lanes and open looks from the perimeter. Federiko had a first half sprint following a defensive stop that created an open three for Lowe to give Pitt a 36-30 lead late in the half.
HE'S HIM-SON
Blake Hinson surpassed the 1,500 career-point milestone with his second three-pointer early in the first half. The Deltona, Fla. native finished with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field and went 3-of-10 from three-point range.
UP NEXT
Pitt returns to action Tuesday, Feb. 13 in Charlottesville, Va., against Virginia.
