PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Just when NC State cut the lead to 3 with just over two minutes to play, it was a Federiko Federiko offensive put-back that gave the Panthers a two-score lead and Pitt held on to win 81-73 on Senior Night at the Petersen Events Center.
“It was huge,” said Pitt head coach Jeff Capel. “I thought we were getting some good looks but the ball stopped going in. They kept pushing, kept fighting. Bub hits a three after that. We had some game pressure and guys stepped up and made some plays.”
Sharing the basketball was another key for Pitt on Saturday, 16 assists to only five turnovers. That’s 56 assists in the last three games.
“Moving the ball more, the ball has a lot of energy when we are playing,” said guard Bub Carrington. “I feel like everyone is happy for each other. Everyone wants to see each other succeed. When you have a team and teammates thinking like that. The ball is going to go in for sure.”
“Our success rate has been up ever since the assist rate has bumped up,” said forward Blake Hinson.
While Hinson finished with 21 points, Carrington had 23 points, six assists, five rebounds and one turnover. He was also 4-9 from three and his three-point shooting has been great in four of the last five games.
“I would say just confidence,” Carrington said. “I feel like I was in my head a lot when it’s not going in. It’s about stepping up and knocking it down.”
Athleticism
Pitt showed off some athleticism at key moments during the game Saturday.
· Ishmael Leggett drove the lane and then with his back to the basket, made the shot, was fouled and finished the three-point play for a 29-24 lead with 5:53 to play in the first half
· It was followed by a hanging drive by Zach Austin to push the lead up to seven and forced the Wolfpack to call a timeout.
· Hinson hit a deep three to give the Panthers a 15-point lead early in the Second half
· That was followed by a windmill Austin dunk for a 52-35 advantage
· Jaland Lowe breaks the press ahead to Carrington who threw an alley-opp to Guillermo Diaz-Graham. He was fouled as he made it and finished a three-point play to make it 78-70 with under a minute to play.
Double bye
Pitt has earned a double-bye in the ACC Tournament finishing fourth in the conference after starting 1-5.
“It’s a big deal,” Capel said. “It would have been easy to roll over when we were 1-5 and headed to play Duke. We believed. They believed in us. We believed in each other. We learned how to fight.”
“Sometimes it takes getting your face rubbed in it a little bit to understand how hard this is. We have really good guys and they were able to turn this thing around.”
ACC Standings
North Carolina (17-3, 25-6)
Duke (15-5, 24-7)
Virginia (13-7, 22-9)
Pitt (12-8, 21-10)
Clemson (11-9, 21-10)
Syracuse (11-9, 20-11)
Wake Forest (11-9, 19-12)
Virginia Tech (10-10, 18-13)
Florida State (10-10, 16-15)
NC State (9-11, 17-14)
Boston College (8-12, 17-14)
Georgia Tech (7-13, 14-17)
Notre Dame (7-13, 12-19)
Miami (6-14, 15-16)
Louisville (3-17, 8-23)
Climbing stat ladder
Blake Hinson continues to climb the Pitt record books in a few categories
· Single season scoring-Hinson passed Don Hennon-573, Larry Harris-574 and Jamel Artis-582. With 584 points, Hinson is three points shy of Brian Shorter and Charles Smith for 14th place.
· All-time scoring list-Hinson passed Brian Generalovich, James Robinson, Calvin Sheffield, Talib Zanna and Isaac Hawkins. He currently has 1,134 points and in 32nd place, with Kent Scott next at 1,143.
· Career three-pointers made-tied Lamar Patterson for 8th place with 206