A few minutes into Tuesday’s game between Pitt and No. 4 Duke, the Panthers were reacquainted with an advantage unseen for quite some time at Petersen Events Center: energetic cheering from a large crowd.
The 10,804-strong sea of fans, the largest by far Pitt has attracted for a home men’s basketball game this season, delighted as the Panthers took an early lead over Duke and showed it with sustained loud support.
While Pitt led early and hung around within striking range for the majority of the game, missed offensive opportunities and Duke’s pure talent contributed to a 70-54 defeat.
“We had too many mistakes — too many ‘my bads,’” coach Jeff Capel said following the loss. “When you’re playing against a really good team like that, you have to eliminate those. We didn’t do that, but I’m proud of our fight.”
A 12-0 Blue Devils run over the final two-plus minutes of the first half and first four minutes of the second created an insurmountable deficit for the Panthers (9-16, 2-10 ACC).
Duke (22-2, 11-1) was not at its best Tuesday, leaving the door open at several junctures for a Pitt rally, but the Panthers weren’t able to generate the necessary points to keep pace with one of the nation’s best squads.
For only the fourth time in 22 games, Duke was held to 70 points or fewer.
A six-point halftime deficit grew to 11 early in the second half and while Pitt cut Duke’s lead to nine with about five minutes to go, a barrage of Blue Devils 3-pointers put the game away.
Roman Siulepa (19 points) and Barry Dunning Jr. (17) were Pitt’s primary offensive contributors, while ACC-leading scorer and rebounder Cameron Boozer finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
For the third straight game, Pitt played without leading scorer Brandin Cummings, who remains out with an ankle injury.
Duke’s Isaiah Evans led all scorers with 21 points, with the Blue Devils shooting 54.9% (28 of 51) on the night.
The Panthers made 38.9% (21 of 54) of their baskets, including 27.3% (9 of 33) from deep. In the second half, only 2 of 13 15.4% 3-pointers went in for Pitt, while Duke outrebounded the Panthers 37-23.
“We knew that (Pitt) has played incredibly hard and incredibly together,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “They shoot free, because they know they’re not coming out of the game. I think that makes for a dangerous team. The way they started was exactly what I thought.”
Scheyer found himself calling timeout less than three minutes into the game, as Pitt took a 9-4 lead following a layup by Dunning and a 3-pointer from Siulepa.
At the 16:28 mark of the opening half, Pitt’s lead grew to 12-6 when Siulepa drained another shot from downtown.
But Duke, fresh off a stinging buzzer-beating loss to No. 14 North Carolina over the weekend, collected itself, taking a one-point lead with about 13 minutes left before halftime.
Things stayed neck and neck until the final minutes, with Duke ending the first half on a 7-0 run to go up 35-29 at the break.
Once play resumed in the second half, Pitt failed to score for the opening 4:55, by which time the Blue Devils were leading 40-31.
“I didn’t think we ended the (first) half well,” Capel said. “To start the second half, we missed a layup, missed two free throws, we had a wide-open 3 that we missed and that turned into points for (Duke), where they were able to extend the lead to 11. … If we make a couple more shots, make a couple layups, make a couple free throws, maybe we put a little bit more game pressure on them.”
As the midway point of the second half approached, Pitt was fighting desperately to stick around, coming within six points multiple times.
With 9:28 to play, the Blue Devils led, 50-40.
Three minutes later, Duke was up 14, but a Damarco Minor 3-pointer and Dunning fastbreak made it 56-47 with 5:11 remaining, generating some momentum for the Panthers.
The backbreaking sequence for Pitt began with just over four minutes to go.
Duke’s Caleb Foster made a layup and following two misses by Pitt, Foster and Evans drained back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Blue Devils up 67-50 at the 2:48 mark.
From there, Pitt managed only two more points.
Tuesday’s loss marked Pitt’s fourth straight.
But Dunning found something to be proud of in the way the Panthers battled an elite foe.
“In the end, they just hit shots and hit big-time shots and the lead got away from us,” Dunning said. “I think it just shows the potential we have. … I really feel like we’re right there. I have full belief in this team that we can keep playing like this and something’s going to give.”