2nd-half meltdown spoils upset bid for Pitt, which falls, 77-69, on the road at No. 24 Duke
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Arguably the worst stretch Pitt has played this year spoiled a promising chance for an upset at No. 24 Duke on Wednesday night in Durham, N.C.
After leading by 11 at halftime, the Panthers lost 77-69 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
With 14 minutes, 8 seconds to play in the game, Pitt maintained a 52-44 lead. But from there, it would be nearly seven minutes before the Panthers managed another point, which came via a Jamarius Burton free throw.
Not until the 5:57 mark of the second half did Pitt (11-6, 4-2 ACC) make another shot from the field. In that 8 minutes, 11 seconds, Duke went on a 19-3 run and took an 11-point lead with 4:32 to go.
The Panthers’ came within four points with 1:49 to play but got no closer. Pitt couldn’t string together necessary stops nor prevent Duke (13-4, 4-2) from getting to the free-throw line.
Whether Wednesday night did, indeed, feature the most brutal segment of basketball Pitt has played this year is subjective. What is not up for debate is the shellacking Pitt took in the rebounding department, with Duke coming away with a 51-28 advantage, easily the worst the Panthers have performed this year.
Duke’s robust rebounding alleviated an otherwise pedestrian offensive effort.
“Obviously, they dominated the glass,” coach Jeff Capel told reporters in Durham after the loss. “That really was the difference in the game. It’s very rare that you see when a team shoots 36% and 22% from the 3(-point line), that they win. (Duke) did that because of how they dominated in the second half.”
Alarming for Pitt was the 24 offensive rebounds given up to Duke, which, in addition to the minus-23 rebounding differential, also was a season worst.
The Blue Devils managed 19 second-chance points.
“Can’t get outrebounded the way (we) did and then try to think things are going to turn out in our favor,” Pitt associate head coach Milan Brown told 93.7 FM postgame. “Giving up 24 offensive rebounds, you just can’t do that, especially on the road. … You’ve got to rebound it. You can’t give up so many extra opportunities and think you’re going to beat a quality team like that.”
Pitt was led in scoring by Burton, who had 16 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Nelly Cummings added 14, and Nike Sibande had 11 off the bench and Blake Hinson 10.
The Panthers shot 43.1% (25 of 58) from the floor but only 27.3% (6 of 22) on 3-point tries.
The player worthy of game MVP honors was Duke freshman center Kyle Filipowski, who imposed his will on Pitt all night, scoring a career-high 28 points to go with 15 rebounds.
“He’s just a really good basketball player,” Capel said. “(Duke does) a great job of moving him around to different spots. He posts at times. He drove us. Obviously, he was a monster on the glass. He’s very, very talented. … Tonight, he was the best player on the floor.”
Riding back-to-back losses, the Panthers have two remaining road games to get through before returning home. Up next is a Saturday game at Georgia Tech, with tipoff slated for 3 p.m. from McCamish Pavillion in Atlanta.