Pitt
20-10,11-8ACC
Florida State
15-15,9-10ACC
Hinson Sets School Three-Point Mark as Pitt Rolls Past Florida State, 88-73
3/6/2024 12:32:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Lowe Posts First Career Double-Double with 17 Points & 10 Assists
PITTSBURGH — Blake Hinson set a school record for threes in a season during a 27-point night and Jaland Lowe recorded his first career double-double to lead Pitt to an 88-73 win over Florida State Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center. Hinson made six three-pointers and added a pair of three-point plays, while Lowe had 17 points and 10 assists as Pitt improved to 20-10 overall and 11-8 in the ACC.
Pitt shot an ACC-high 55.9 percent (33-of-59) from the field, including a 16-of-26 (.615) effort in the second half of play. Carlton Carrington added 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Ishmael Leggetthad another strong showing off the bench with 10 points and five boards.
Hinson gave the Panthers a 14-12 lead with his second three of the half and Carrington added a wing three to extend the lead to 19-14.
Zack Austin's corner three capped off a 15-3 run and gave the Panthers a seven-point lead with 8:45 remaining. Guillermo Diaz Graham hit a three coming out of the under four media timeout for the Panthers' first double-digit lead of the half and Leggett hit a pair of free throws to complete a 7-0 run for a 34-22 lead with 2:48 remaining.
Pitt entered the break with a 42-31 lead as the Panthers delivered an outstanding defensive effort, holding the Seminoles to 36.4 percent shooting and forced 11 turnovers, in the opening 20 minutes of action. The Panthers also went 10-of-16 from the field in the final 9:40 of action and shot 51.5 percent from the field in the opening half.
Hinson had a team-high nine points, while Leggett came off the bench for eight points and four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Lowe handled Florida State's constant full court pressure well and entered halftime with six points and six assists with just one turnover.
Florida State stayed connected by going 12-of-14 (.867) from the foul line as Carrington, Federiko Federiko, and Guillermo Diaz Graham missed time due to foul trouble.
Pitt came out of the half with an 11-4 run as Federiko scored four straight to force a Florida State timeout with the Panthers leading 53-35 at the 16:58 mark. Florida State battled back with a 12-3 run aided by three Panther turnovers to cut the deficit in half.
Hinson hit three three-pointers in a span of 2:55 to push the Pitt lead back to 14 points with 9:27 remaining. The second triple of the sequence gave him a school record 103 threes on the season with Lowe collected his 10th assist on the play.
The Panthers went 7-of-11 from the field over the final 8:45 to maintain the double-digit lead and secure a second consecutive league win by 15 or more points. Pitt held the lead for nearly 35 minutes of game action.
Florida State was led by Cameron Corhen (25 points, 8 rebounds) and Darin Green, Jr. (16 points). The Seminoles did much of their damage from the foul line going 24-of-31 (.774) from the stripe on the night.
BLAKE CONTINUES TO BAKE
Hinson recorded his 13th 20+ point scoring game and delivered another dazzling shooting display. In addition to surpassing the single season three-point record, he became just the seventh player in program history to scored 200 or more career threes, accomplishing that feat in just 66 games at Pitt. He also matched a Pitt season record with his seventh game with five or more three-point field goals.
Hinson jumped five spots in the Panthers career scoring list and now ranks 37th with 1,113 points as a Panther.
20 WINS AGAIN
Pitt topped the 20-win mark for the second consecutive season and secured a second winning season in league action. With the victory the Panthers secured at least an opening day bye in the ACC Tournament. Pitt, picked to finish ninth in the ACC Preseason Poll, can secure a top-four seed with a win on Saturday coupled with either a Wake Forest win over Clemson or a Georgia Tech win over Virginia.
DROPPING DIMES
Pitt finished with over 20 assists for the second consecutive game and the sixth time this season as the freshman guard tandem of Lowe (10) and Carrington (4) combined for 14 of the team's 20 helpers.
GETTING IT DONE IN THE LANE
Pitt outscored the Seminoles 24-8 in points in the paint in the opening half and finished with a +12 (40-28) advantage in interior points.
GOOD FROM THREE
The Panthers shot 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from three-point distance, including a 6-of-13 effort in the second half. Pitt has now made 10 or more threes in a game 15 times this season, including nine times in ACC play. The Panthers are 34 threes away from the school record set last season.
UP NEXT
Pitt closes out the regular season Saturday, March 9 against NC State (The CW – 7:45 p.m.). Senior Day activities will take place prior to tipoff with Blake Hinson, KJ Marshall, and William Jeffress being honored.
