Pitt's Shooting Woes Return in Loss to Miami

The Pitt Panthers couldn't get their offense clicking until late as their winning streak was snapped.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers entered Saturday's contest on a high following two hard-fought victories that appeared to reinvigorate the team following a rough start to conference play. With a chance to extend their winning streak, however, the Panthers fell in a 72-68 loss to the Miami Hurricanes. Pitt's shooting struggles were yet again on full display as it shot 37.5% from the field and 30.6% from three, which ultimately came back to haunt the team as its comeback efforts came up just short despite a valiant effort in the closing minutes. 

Wooga Poplar opened the scoring on the first possession of the game, but Zack Austin immediately responded with a three-pointer. Norchad Omier nailed a three of his own to put the Hurricanes back up at the 17:53 mark as Miami broke off an 8-0 run that led to a 12-5 lead at the first media timeout. 

Pitt went on a 6-0 run out of the break and cut their deficit to one point several times during the following minutes but couldn't quite overtake Miami as the Hurricanes carried an 18-13 lead into the second media timeout at the 11:22 mark. 

The Panthers' shooting struggles were a major story line early in the contest. They endured a 1-of-9 stretch that included no field goals over a four-minute period as Poplar hit a pair of threes that put Miami up eleven as part of an 11-1 run at the 8:48 mark, forcing Jeff Capel to burn a timeout. 

The Panthers went without a field goal for another two minutes after the stoppage, allowing the Hurricanes to extend their lead to 28-15 after a Nijel Pack three before the third media timeout at the 6:55 mark. 

Hinson snapped Pitt's lull with a mid-range jumper before making his first three of the game a minute later at the 4:59 mark. Miami held a 36-22 at the final media timeout of the half, though a Hinson layup and shooting foul against the Hurricanes provided the Panthers with the slightest bit of momentum heading into the final minutes. 

A contested corner three by Hinson cut Pitt's deficit to ten points at the 3:14 mark, though the Panthers went the final 2:28 of the half without scoring as Miami took a 40-29 lead into halftime. 

While Pitt's shooting numbers somewhat course corrected as the half went on, they still weren't pretty. The Panthers shot 32.9% from the field and 23.5% from behind the arc despite receiving open looks rather consistently. Miami, on the other hand, went 48.5% overall and 38.9% from three-point range and gave Pitt's defense fits. The Hurricanes also outrebounded the Panthers 22 to 17 despite their size disadvantage. 

Hinson was Pitt's only player with more than two field goals in the first half as he recorded 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting while Pack led Miami with 12 points. 

Kyshawn George got the party started in the second half with a deep three-pointer as the Hurricanes quickly went up 47-31 at the 18:28 mark. Both teams struggled mightily out of the break as Miami was mired in a 0-of-5 rut while Pitt was 1-for-7 leading into the second media timeout at the 15:35 mark, where the Hurricanes had a 48-34 lead. 

A Poplar three extended Miami's lead to 19 points at the 14:30 mark as the Hurricanes held their ground and possessed a 58-41 lead at the third media timeout. 

The Panthers cut the deficit to 13 points following layups from both Hinson and Jaland Lowe before Leggett made it 62-50 on a three-pointer at the 7:41 mark to keep Pitt within striking distance. 

With Miami in a scoring drought of over three minutes, the Panthers had ample opportunity to make things interesting and complete a comeback down the stretch. The issue, however, was that Pitt's offense fell into a trance of its own and couldn't overcome its game-long struggles as the Hurricanes made it 64-51 with 4:29 left on an Omier dunk. 

A Hinson three-pointer cut the contest to single digits at the 4:11 mark before Omier pulled through with a second-chance layup. The Panthers didn't back down, however, as Bub Carrington and Lowe combined for five points in consecutive possessions that made it 66-60 with 2:35 left. 

A pair of free throws by Bensley Joseph offered the Hurricanes some breathing room, but Leggett answered right back with a three to make it 68-63 with 2:01 left. Lowe cut the deficit to three points with two free throws of his own before hitting a three with 46 seconds that made it 70-68. 

The Panthers got the ball back with 10.3 seconds left and a chance to either tie or take the lead following a missed three-pointer by Poplar. It was an empty possession for Pitt, however, as Lowe threw up a contested mid-range shot that didn't come close and allowed the Hurricanes to close out a win while the Panthers narrowly missed completing a thrilling comeback. 

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