Last weekend, Pitt suffered one type of humiliating loss in a 41-point beatdown against Louisville.
On Wednesday at Boston College, the Panthers felt the sting of a different type of defeat.
Pitt battled through a sluggish offensive start and the ejection of point guard Damarco Minor only to fall 65-62 at the Conte Forum on a late 3-pointer by Boden Kapke.
Pitt struggled to finish at the rim and went only 7 of 17 from the free-throw line. Kapke’s winning basket came with 22 seconds remaining in regulation.
A few attempts at a game-tying basket failed, and Pitt (8-11, 1-5 ACC) left Chestnut Hill, Mass., with a crushing loss.
“You’ve got to finish plays around the rim, and you have to make free throws to win, especially on the road,” assistant coach Jason Capel said on 93.7 FM postgame. “We weren’t able to do that, and that’s how you come up three points behind.”
Cam Corhen (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Roman Siulepa (13 points, 11 rebounds) had double-doubles for Pitt, and Brandin Cummings (11 points), Nojus Indrusaitis (10) and Barry Dunning Jr. (10) were Pitt’s other main offensive contributors.
The Panthers were woeful from the floor to start, shooting 23.3% (7 of 30) in the first half. However, over the final 20 minutes, they rebounded to shoot 51.5% (17 of 31).
Pitt led by six on multiple occasions in the second half and was up 62-59 with 2:56 to go.
But from there, the Panthers failed to score any more points, as Boston College (9-11, 2-4) ended on a 6-0 run, culminating with Kapke’s game-winner.
He finished with a career-high 19 points, complemented by Fred Payne’s 18.
Pitt let points slip away up close and at the free throw line all night, but the second half was particularly poor, as only 1 of 6 free throws were converted.
Those missed opportunities told the tale of the loss for Jason Capel.
“It’s double-figure plays — you look back at the film after you see it in real time, but there’s at least 10-plus plays where we missed point-blank shots right at the rim,” he said. “If you make those, if you convert your free throws, then you feel pretty good about walking out of here with a win.”
It was actually points at the free-throw line that floated Pitt early, as the Panthers struggled from all over the floor in the first half.
Boston College led by as many as eight in the first half, and the Eagles’ lead was 28-22 at the break.
Minor’s ejection transpired with 8:30 left before halftime.
Backpedaling as Chase Forte advanced toward the rim in transition, Minor, his hands down, made hard contact with Forte as he elevated for a layup.
Forte went down, with Minor quickly moving to help him off the court and apologize.
But upon review, the officials ruled the collision a flagrant 2 foul, leading to Minor’s departure.
In his absence, Macari Moore played a career-high 17 minutes off the bench, contributing five points and four rebounds.
Pitt came out of halftime with a purpose, quickly taking a 29-28 lead about 90 seconds in.
The Eagles and Panthers traded leads over the ensuing minutes, but with 14:07 to go, Pitt took a 41-36 lead following a Corhen bucket.
Siulepa then made it 45-39 with about 12 minutes left.
At the 8:49 mark of the final half, Pitt’s lead was again extended to six, as Dunning sank a 3-pointer.
But once again, Boston College managed to respond, staying close behind as Pitt’s tally of missed easy baskets and free throws mounted.
Indrusaitis hit a 3 with 4:33 left that put Pitt in front by three, and the Panthers held that same lead at the 2:56 mark courtesy of another Corhen basket.
But no more offense could be found from there.
The last two converted baskets of the night were 3-pointers by Boston College that tied and then won the game.
“We’ve got to continue to work, continue to get better, continue to believe in one another and put together a full 40 minutes — what it takes to step into the winning circle,” Jason Capel said. “I like our fight, but fight is something you have to bring every night. You have to do the little thing it takes, fundamental things it takes — making free throws and finishing plays, buttoning up things defensively — in order to win.”