Pitt
16-13,7-11ACC
Louisville
23-6,16-2ACC
Panthers Battle Before Falling Late at No. 19 Louisville
3/1/2025 8:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Pitt battled No. 19 Louisville for much of the night and carried a lead into the final seven minutes of action before going cold from three-point range in a 79-68 loss Saturday evening at the KFC YUM! Center. Four Panthers scored in double-figures, but it wasn't enough to overcome a career night from Chucky Hepburn and a 31-17 free throw attempt discrepancy.
Jaland Lowe recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists and two steals, while Zack Austin added 15 points and five rebounds for the Panthers. Guillermo Diaz Graham had 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals with Ishmael Leggett contributing 10 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.
Pitt grabbed a 22-21 lead on a Diaz Graham corner three with 5:31 left in the first half before Chucky Hepburn caught fire over the next three minutes with four three-point field goals to give the Cardinals a 33-29 lead heading into the final media timeout of the half.
Hepburn hit two more tightly contested threes before Lowe scored twice on driving finishes to send the Panthers into the break trailing 39-33. Louisville made its final seven three-point attempts of the half, including a 6-of-6 effort by Hepburn, and finished the opening 20 minutes 9-of-13 (.692) from beyond the arc.
The Panthers stayed connected in the opening half with a scrappy effort in the paint with a rebounding advantage and a 14-8 edge in points in the paint. Lowe entered the break with a team-high 12 points and five rebounds.
Pitt came out of halftime with a spark using the three-point line to erase the deficit and grab a lead in the first six minutes of action. Brandin Cummings started a 7-0 run with a three-point field and followed up an Austin tip-in dunk with a steal and two free throws to give the Panthers a 50-47 lead with 14:05 remaining.
The Panthers defense tightened to force three turnovers during an 8-0 run to pull ahead 62-59 with 7:35 remaining. Leggett dug out a pair of steals and Austin knocked down a three from in front of the Pitt bench to cap the run.
Louisville used a 9-0 run to enter the under four media timeout with a 68-62 lead as the Panthers missed five consecutive threes over a four minute span. Cameron Corhen knocked down a pair of free throws to stop the run and Lowe scored on a driving finish to get the Panthers back to 72-66 with 2:07 remaining. The Cardinals went 5-of-6 from the foul line and got a late run out to seal the win.
Hepburn finished with 37 points, including 24 in the opening half, to lead Louisville. He matched Pitt's free throw attempt total with 17, while also going 9-of-11 from the field and 6-of-6 from three-point range. Terrence Edwards, Jr. added 23 points and seven rebounds. Louisville went 11-of-21 from three-point range and 22-of-31 from the foul line to hold off the Panthers.
UP NEXT
Pitt is on the road to play NC State Wednesday, March 5 (7 p.m. – ACC Network) before closing out the regular season at the Petersen Events Center Saturday, March 8 against Boston College (6 p.m. – ACC Network).
