Pitt Basketball
Louisville Dominates Offensive Glass as Pitt Drops Second Straight Game

PITTSBURGH — As Pitt returned to the Petersen Events Center, where it has won 15 games in a row, the Panthers were looking to move past a disastrous 29-points loss in which they shot a season-low 31 percent from the floor against the ACC’s top team in Duke.
In order for Pitt to bounce back from its first conference defeat of the season, it was challenged by a Louisville team that was riding a five-game winning streak and the Cardinals added to that with an 82-78 victory Saturday afternoon over the Panthers.
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Louisville (12-5, 5-1 ACC) dominated on the offensive glass, picking up 17 rebounds that resulted in 22 second chance points, including a late rebound with the Cardinals ahead by two points in the final minute of the game.
After a missed three from J’Vonne Hadley, he followed it up to grab his own miss and would get fouled by Ishmael Leggett. Moments later, Chucky Hepburn put the finishing touches on the game with a driving layup.
As the Cardinals controlled the boards, out-rebounding the Panthers 44-31 overall, Reyne Smith terrorized the Panthers beyond the arc with seven triples and a game-high 25 points. The Cardinals shot 47.6 percent from outside.
For the Panthers (12-4, 3-2 ACC), Jaland Lowe led the way with 24 points on 5-of-15 shooting, while connecting on all 13 free-throw attempts and registering six assists. Leggett added 16 points as Damian Dunn recorded 15 points and led the Panthers with eight rebounds.
It was a first half of runs between the Panthers and Cardinals. After Louisville jumped out to a 5-0 lead, Pitt responded with a sizable 15-2 run behind some sharp three-point shooting with Leggett, Lowe and Zack Austin all hitting from beyond the arc.
Lowe also went to work with Cameron Corhen in the paint, dishing off a pair of lob assists as the 6-foot-10 Corhen finished at the rim.
Pitt’s biggest lead of the first half sat at 18-10 until the Cardinals ramped up their rebounding efforts and took control on the glass. In the first half, the Cardinals out-rebounded the Panthers 23-16, along with 10 offensive rebounds to Pitt’s two that corresponded in 14 second chance points.
James Scott and Khani Rooths finished off a pair of dunks, while Smith and Terrence Edwards Jr. knocked down triples as Louisville took off on a 14-0 run for its biggest lead at 24-18.
While Pitt hit an early trio of threes, the Panthers pushed into the paint in the latter stages of the opening half. Papa Kante and Dunn got onto the scoresheet with layup buckets as the Panthers narrowed their deficit.
Louisville took a slim one-point lead into halftime, 35-34, with Smith scoring nine points, all from beyond the arc. Corhen led all scorers with 11 as Pitt shot 48.1 percent from the floor.
Hadley opened the second half with a pair of buckets, including a 3-pointer to put the Cardinals ahead by six points.
Pitt then responded with a Leggett corner three and a Dunn triple from the top of the arc to gain a 44-43 lead five minutes into the second half, forcing a Louisville timeout.
Lowe brought a consistent scoring touch for the Panthers as he took control over the next few minutes, scoring 10 points in the opening eight minutes of the second frame.
Louisville, a team that ranks 11th in the country in 3-point attempts, continued to shoot from outside as Hepburn and Smith combined on three triples that put the Cardinals up 60-57 amongst five lead changes in 10 minutes.
Pitt regained control as Lowe continued to pour in points, along with a critical triple Dunn for the Panthers to go ahead 62-60.
The lead exchanged hands once again with Hadley finishing on the layup as Louisville grabbed the momentum as it pushed the lead to five points on a trio of occasions. A Chucky Hepburn three put the Cardinals in front 72-67.
In response, the Panthers watched a pair of key 3-pointers fall off the hands of Dunn and a crucial corner three from Austin the vaulted the Panthers ahead momentarily 73-72.
Smith would score the next eight points for the Cardinals, including a tough turning three.
After Leggett cut the deficit to two points with 1:05 to go, Pitt needed a defensive stop, but that never came after the Cardinals once again scooped up an offensive rebound. Hepburn would score for the Cardinals to secure the four-point win.
Pitt is back on the road for a Wednesday night matchup in Tallahasse, Fla. against the Florida State Seminoles. Tip is set for 9 p.m.
