Pitt’s players could have checked out weeks ago, as a disappointing season approached its conclusion.
But inside the Panthers’ locker room, with a trip to the ACC Tournament still within grasp leading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at Syracuse, players vowed to keep battling until the end.
“We’re not going to quit. We know what we have in this room,” senior guard/forward Barry Dunning Jr. said after the Panthers’ one-point loss to Florida State on Wednesday. “We’re just going to keep fighting.”
After the Panthers won 71-69 in overtime Saturday at Syracuse to punch their ticket to the league tournament, Dunning’s remarks can’t be doubted.
Pitt entered tipoff at JMA Wireless Dome needing to win in order to secure the No. 15 and final seed in the ACC Tournament.
Though the Panthers (12-19, 5-13 ACC) led by as much as nine early and 12 in the final half, the final 6 minutes, 42 seconds of the second half as well as the entirety of overtime were a one-basket affair.
With less than 5 seconds to play and the score tied 69-69, Nojus Indrusaitis hit a layup in traffic for Pitt to win the game. Syracuse (15-16, 6-12) was called for goaltending on the winning basket.
Pitt will play No. 10-seeded Stanford (20-11, 9-9) at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the opening round of the ACC Tournament held in Charlotte, N.C.
“Just really happy for the guys, the entire program,” assistant coach Kyle Cieplicki said on 93.7 FM postgame. “Thought we showed a ton of fight like we have the last five games of the year, finishing strong. Came out ready to play. … We made a push early in the second half, took the punch when (Syracuse) made their run and executed late. Great team win.”
Cameron Corhen paced Pitt with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, followed by Barry Dunning Jr. (17) and Indrusaitis (16).
Naithan George (26 points) and Donnie Freeman (18, 13 rebounds) were the leaders for Syracuse, which will be the No. 14 seed in the tournament.
Starting fast, the Panthers crafted a 20-11 lead with about 11 minutes to go before halftime.
But Syracuse chipped away at its deficit over the ensuing minutes and with 4:43 to go in the half, the score was tied 24-24 after a pair of Freeman free throws.
The charity stripe loomed large in Saturday’s contest, with Syracuse going 16 of 17 from the free-throw line. Pitt hit 13 of 20 of its shots.
With 3:44 left in the half, Pitt led 28-24, but from there, the Orange closed things out on a 7-0 run to take a three-point lead into the break.
Approaching the midway point of the second half, Pitt appeared on the verge of running away with things with a 16-2 run to go up 49-37 with 11:01 remaining.
But with 6:04 to go, the score was tied 52-52. From there, neither the Orange nor Panthers got more than three points of separation.
Over the final six minutes of regulation, a seesaw at the free-throw line ensued, as collectively Pitt and Syracuse added a combined 16 points from the charity stripe.
Freeman tied the score 65-65 with a pair of free throws with 68 seconds left, and from there, neither team could produce the winning basket.
In the first minute of overtime, George and Indrusaitis traded baskets before Freeman tied the score 69-69 with 2:37 to go.
But a stalemate ensued, with Indrusaitis’ winning layup the only other basket for the remainder of the game.
With 4 seconds to go, following Indrusaitis’ shot, Syracuse called timeout to draw up a last-ditch play.
Freeman took the final shot for his team, a 3-pointer with 1 second left, but it was no good.
On the day, Pitt shot 44.1% (26 of 59) from the floor, compared to 39% (23 of 59) by the Orange.
The Panthers hit only 23.1% (6 of 26) of their 3-point tries and outrebounded Syracuse, 39-34.
“(Syracuse) made their run in the last 10 minutes of the game, but we buckled down and made key stops late,” Cieplicki said. “I thought we did a good job individually, were able to block out, get the ball and give ourselves chances, both in regulation and overtime, to cash in. Fortunately, we did.”