On Tuesday night, No. 4 Duke dominated Pitt start-to-finish at the historic Cameron Indoor Stadium, winning 76-47.
The Panthers did not score in the final 7:59 of the game, after trailing for most of the matchup. Duke ended the dominant victory on an 18-0 run.
Duke jumped out to a 5-0 lead, earning early buckets from Khaman Maluach and a Tyrese Proctor. Pitt answered with a three pointer off the hands of Guillermo Diaz Graham and a slam dunk from Cam Corhen, but the Blue Devils then tightened up the defensive effort. Pitt then went more than three-and-a-half minutes without scoring, missing six-straight shots.
Duke star Cooper Flagg picked up his second foul of the game with 12:30 to play in the first half, and the Blue Devils also went cold offensively. As Duke made just one of its next 11 shots, Pitt took the lead, 12-11, on a three pointer from Zack Austin, extending its run to 7-0.
The Panthers traded free throws with Duke, building the lead up to 14-13. However, Duke’s Mason Gillis, coming off the bench, turned in two-straight buckets, including a three, to give Duke an 18-14 lead. Gillis’ points kickstarted a 10-0 run for the Blue Devils, as Pitt struggled to keep up on both ends. Duke’s Kon Knueppel hit three three pointers from the 6:43 mark to the 4:33 mark, building the Blue Devils’ lead up to 29-21.
After forcing back-to-back Duke turnovers, Pitt could not convert on the offensive end. Throughout the rest of the first half, both defenses continued to thrive. The Blue Devils entered the break with a 34-24 lead. All things considered, despite Pitt’s scoring struggles, the Panthers kept the game within striking distance in the first frame.
In the second half, Flagg stole the show. He scored ten points in the first nine minutes of the second half, including perhaps the best highlight of his young career — a slam dunk over Pitt’s Guillermo Diaz Graham.
Pitt worked its way back into the game with some scoring from Jaland Lowe and two-straight fastbreak buckets from Beebah Cummings. However, after Cummings cut the deficit down to 11 points, Duke continued to score the ball while Pitt, once again, went cold. The Panthers went over five minutes without scoring, and Duke built up a massive lead. After Proctor hit another three pointer, Duke took a 22-point lead, 69-47.
Duke shut down Pitt’s star guards Ishmael Leggett and Lowe in the game. Leggett went from 2 for 15 from the field in the loss, while Lowe finished 3 for 12. The two combined for 12 points. Cam Corhen led Pitt with 11 points, and Damian Dunn added seven in his return from injury. Dunn was kicked out of the game after being assessed a flagrant-2 foul in the final minutes.
All five of Duke’s starters finished in double figures. Flagg led the way with 19 points, ten rebounds, and five assists. Knueppel added 17 points for the Blue Devils, and Proctor added 13.
With the loss, Pitt drops its first loss in ACC play of the season, falling to 3-1 in league play. The Panthers now own a 12-3 record on the season, while Duke advanced to 13-2 on the year and 5-0 in the ACC.
wpDiscuz