Pitt vs Clemson Live Feed: Panthers Fall Agonizingly Short into Second Place

The Pitt Panthers dropped a one-point contest and fall into second place.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers brought one of the best home crowds in recent memory to the Petersen Events Center and battled with Clemson down to the final seconds. 

Still, a lack of late-game execution and some poor offense throughout the game let a win slip through their fingers. The Panthers are now 4-1 in ACC play and fall into second place in the conference behind the surging Tigers. 

Matchup: Clemson at Pitt
Time: 4:00 P.M. ET
Where: Petersen Events Center
How to Watch: ESPN2
How to Listen: 93.7 The Fan 

Live Game Chat 

Come chat with our Inside the Panthers team. Stephen Thompson will share their thoughts and news, and any highlights from the game. Tweet at us at @InsidePitt to have your thoughts and reactions shared in the feed.

Stephen: Final: Clemson 75, Pitt 74.

The Panthers made just two field goals over the final four minutes of the game, which helped the Tigers go on a 13-2 run that earned them the win. 

They've earned themselves some grace, but this was a win in hand they let slip through their fingers. With the best home crowd in years on hand to watch them do it, Pitt falls agonizingly short and suffers its first ACC loss of the season. 

Burton scored 28 points and Blake Hinson added 14 before fouling out. No one else cracked double figures. Clemson outscored the Panthers in the paint 34-14. 

Stephen: Clemson extends their run to 12-2 and took a 71-69 lead with 1:48 to play. Then Cummings missed an open three and Burton picked up his third foul on a charge. Pitt hasn't scored since the 4:23 mark of this half. 

Stephen: Pitt's lead has been trimmed to 69-67 with 3:12 to play. Clemson's scored eight of the last 10 points and it's clear how the Panthers' foul trouble is affecting their willingness to be aggressive in the paint on defense. The Tigers have found some easy looks because of it. 

Stephen: Pitt had opened up their largest lead of the game at 67-59 with 5:21 to go in the game but a 3-pointer from Chase Hunter silences the raucous crowd at the Pete and brings Clemson within two possessions of the Panthers. 

Stephen: The foul trouble has only gotten worse for Pitt. Federiko and Diaz-Graham now have four each and both have been somewhat silly and inconsequential to the play at large.  

Pitt leads 62-59 with 7:46 left behind a 4-10 mark from deep in the second half. Elliot has made two triples after halftime. 

Stephen: Both teams have found an offensive rhythm in the second half. They're a combined 12-28, and as a result, no one has been able to seperate themselves. Pitt leads 57-56 with 11 minutes to play thanks to a deep 3-pointer from Guillermo Diaz Graham, but they are dealing with some foul trouble.  

Federiko, Hinson and Diaz-Graham have three each and Cummings has two. Pitt's survived those minutes with Hinson and Federiko on the bench so far but you wonder how long that can last. 

Stephen: Pitt is nursing a 47-46 lead after five minutes of second half play. Clemson's on-ball defense has been impressive. The Tigers are giving the Panthers' guards more trouble when they drive than even Virginia did. 

Clemson is defending the ball and keeping #Pitt's guards out of the paints so much better than Virginia did, which is not something I thought I'd Tweet today.

— stephen thompson (@stephenethom) January 7, 2023

Stephen: Halftime: Clemson 38, Pitt 40.

With 3:02 left in the first half, the Panthers had made just one field goal inside the 3-point arc. They made three after that mark to fuel the 7-0 run which gave them a three-point lead with under two minutes to go until intermission. 

Pitt hasn't played their best half but used the free throw line and a late surge from 3-point range to take a slim lead into halftime. Hinson has 10 points, Burton has 14 to carry the offense. Hunter Tyson leads the Tigers with 10 points. Burton's the Panthers' leading rebounder with four, as well. 

Cummings, Hinson and Guillermo Diaz-Graham each have two fouls. Chase Hunter, Dillon Hunter, RJ Godfrey, Brian Galloway and Ian Schieffelin have two each as well. 

Stephen: The non-Hinson's and Burton's are starting to get involved now. After Federiko and Hinson had to go to the bench with two fouls each, Cummings hit a pair of free throws and Elliot nailed a triple. Pitt's made just one shot inside the 3-point arc this afternoon but trail the Tigers by just four with 4:04 left in the first half. 

Stephen: Pitt trails Clemson 27-17 with 6:48 left in the first half. The Tigers are shooting 68.8% from the field and 50% from deep. Pitt cannot buy a stop right now and has only been able to stabilize things with their rebounding, but only two players - Hinson and Burton - have scored at all. 

On the brighter side of things, they have drawn seven fouls and will shoot free throws for the final 10 minutes of the first half.  

Stephen: Clemson opened up an 8-0 run immediately following the first media timeout. The Panthers have been slow on switches and it's opened up some easy looks inside. They're going to have to find some ways to force turnovers or get the Tigers out of the paint because they are winning easily on the inside. 

Stephen: The score is knotted at eight, all 4:15 into the game. Hinson has five points and three different Tigers have scored. 

My biggest takeaway from these first four minutes, however, is the atmosphere. Pitt fans showed out today and they are loud. 

Stephen: Chase Hunter, Brian Galloway, Ian Schieffelin, Hunter Tyson and P.J. Hall will start for the Tigers today. 

Stephen: This is a big recruiting weekend for Pitt football too. Most - if not all - of the coaching staff is in attendance and they've brought some friends. 

Pat Narduzzi and Frank Cignetti Jr brought a few guests with them today: future #Pitt quarterbacks @pjurkovec & @tydieffenbach14 pic.twitter.com/UrU2etRXoe

— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) January 7, 2023

Phil Jurkovec and WR target Daejon Reynolds watching #Pitt basketball today. https://t.co/K4lcIeGZ7i

— Karl Ludwig (@LudwigKarl8) January 7, 2023

All three of the Panthers' basketball commits in the 2023 class - Carlton Carrington, Jaland Lowe and Marlon Barnes - are here as well. 

Stephen: There will be lots of messages of support for Damar Hamlin coming from all around the arena this afternoon. There is a "Pray For Damar" banner in the upper concourse that fans can sign and ushers are handing out signs with a "3" in the same script Hamlin wore on his Pitt uniform. They're meant to be waived every time the Panthers make a 3-pointer today. 

Stephen: The same starting five that has won 10 of 11 and five in a row will take the floor first for Pitt - Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliot, Jamarius Burton, Blake Hinson and Fede Federiko.

The starters for Clemson have yet to be released. 

Stephen: John Hugley is in street clothes and it looks like he'll miss a fifth straight game in a row for personal reasons. 

Stephen: The Panthers are one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the country - 58th nationally - while the Tigers are 28th in defensive rebounding percentage. It will be a great test for Fede Federiko, who has faced a number of tall tests in the frontcourt this season and passed with flying colors. 

Pitt has not exactly been lighting it up from deep lately - 30.7% over the last four games - so taking advantage of those second shots will be key. 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and so much more!

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