PITTSBURGH — Amid a rugged three-game losing skid, Pitt basketball returned home to the Petersen Events Center on a day in which the program retired legendary player Sam Clancy’s number into the rafters.
After falling behind at halftime, Pitt battled back to force overtime in an entertaining game, but ultimately fell to Clemson 78-75.
Clemson (15-4, 7-1 ACC) grad senior Chase Hunter lifted the Tigers with a late three in overtime that sealed the deal. He posted a game-high 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting with all five field goals coming from beyond the arc.
The Tigers connected on a season-high 14 makes from behind the arc as the Tigers hit on 51.9 percent of its shots from outside.
Ishmael Leggett led the Panthers (12-6, 3-4 ACC) with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting and four triples. He added five rebounds and four assists. The Panthers had four others in double figures with Cameron Corhen and Jaland Lowe pouring in 15 points, respectively.
Pitt shot 45.2 percent from the floor, while hitting on 32.4 percent from three-point range.
Feeding off an energetic crowd in the early goings, Pitt brought the intensity as Zack Austin opened the scoring with a three after an offensive rebound.
Pitt’s rebounding efforts in the first few minutes led to an 11-6 lead after Guillermo Diaz Graham and Leggett buried threes.
However, that lead did not last long as Clemson turned to its sharpshooting from beyond the arc. Hunter took charge, draining four triples as the Tigers connected on 10-of-16 (62.5%) from three in the first half.
Jaeden Zackery and Dillon Hunter added triples as the Tigers went on an 11-0 run that put them in front 17-11.
Pitt aimlessly attempted to keep up in the three-point contest and the Panthers struggled, hitting 5-of-17 (29.4%) from outside in the half. It also failed to hold onto the ball, resulting in 17 total turnovers in the game.
While forward Corhen was on the bench, Pitt strayed away from pushing it inside, leading to forced shots from the perimeter. Once Corhen was on the floor, he scored seven-straight for the Panthers as he worked inside the paint and led with a team-high 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first half.
Clemson’s scorching-hot three-point shooting continued down the stretch to close the first half and it was set up by crisp ball movement. Jake Heidbreder hit from outside, while Hunter added a pair of threes to put Clemson in front 40-30.
Schieffelin poured in another three to open the second half for Clemson. The Tigers would climb to their biggest lead of the game after a pair of free throws from Zackery made it 47-33.
Pitt chipped away with a pair of threes from Diaz Graham, along with a triple from out at the logo from Leggett to shrink the deficit to 55-47 in favor of the Tigers.
The defensive energy picked up for Pitt as it forced a very rare three-point air ball from Hunter, along with a pair of turnovers.
Damian Dunn was on the front end of the first steal as he took it down the floor and finished with a layup. He was then on the receiving end of a Pitt takeaway as he took the pass, pulled up at the arc and buried a crucial three to tie the game at 57-57 with 8:35 left in the game that lit the Pete ablaze.
Pitt grabbed its first lead since 10:59 of the first half thanks to a Leggett three as Pitt went ahead 62-61 with 5:43 to go in the game.
With Pitt in front, the game tightened up and turned into a defensive battle. Clemson pulled in front momentarily on a Zackery mid-range jumper. On the next possession, Lowe drove into the lane and dropped in a bucket to tie the game at 66-66 apiece, forcing in overtime.
Clemson and Pitt exchanged early buckets to start overtime, but the Tigers would hit a critical three from Chauncey Wiggins, who was found wide open during a loose-ball scrum on the floor. Zackery would score on a driving layup to vault the Tigers ahead 73-68 with 2:08 left in the overtime period.
Hunter would seal the game with a clutch triple to close out the Clemson win.
Pitt has now lost four in a row and will look to snap that streak on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Syracuse. Tip is set for noon.
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