After 71-63 loss to N.C. State, Pitt's losing streak reaches 4 for the 3rd time this season

Perhaps the worst part of Pitt’s 71-63 loss at N.C. State’s Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday night wasn’t the deflating reality of the Panthers’ third four-game losing streak of the season.

No, it was Pitt allowing the Wolfpack, who had lost nine in a row earlier this season, to do almost anything they wanted early in the game and with the outcome at stake in the final three minutes.

Assistant coach Tim O’Toole, speaking on the 93.7 FM postgame show, said it was a matter of the Panthers (16-14, 7-12 ACC) “beating ourselves.”

It started in the first half when N.C. State (12-18, 5-14) hit seven 3-pointers, three by Breon Pass, who made his first start of the season on senior night (a start that turned out to be more than ceremonial).

“The reality was in the first half when they hit their seven 3s,” O’Toole said, “they were all wide open. So that’s a breakdown. There’s gotta be more of a sense of urgency like it’s a fire alarm. Something’s going off, you have to fix it, attack it. It’s called instinct. Those things were open. That’s just not acceptable.”

O’Toole wasn’t willing to allow the Panthers to use N.C. State senior night as an excuse.

“How many times (have) you seen this over the years, especially on senior night?” he said. “You know there’s going to be extra buzz in the building, and then it’s up to you to not let that buzz happen. Fight fire with fire.

“We were on our heels. You can’t be successful, especially in Division I on the road, if you’re going to be playing on your heels all night long. It’s just impossible.”

A close game turned in N.C. State’s favor when the Wolfpack took their 34-30 halftime lead and scored the first seven points of the second half. Pitt played the first 4 minutes, 27 seconds after intermission without recording a field goal while its turnover total rose to 11.

More trouble followed when Ishmael Leggett committed his fourth foul with 12:07 left in the game and Pitt behind 46-40. He sat out the next five minutes while Pitt could do nothing to trim the deficit. When he returned, Pitt still trailed by six points.

Pitt crawled to within one point of the lead when Jaland Lowe completed a three-point play with 4:56 to play, but the Panthers were unable to get any closer for a variety of reasons.

Within a half-minute of Lowe’s play, N.C. State’s Ben Middlebrooks grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. Pitt punched back to cut the lead to 60-58 with 3:16 to play, but another half-minute later, Michael O’Connell hit a 3-pointer and N.C. State secured the victory at the free-throw line.

Bottom line: Pitt could not make key stops or grab important rebounds at the game’s most crucial moments. To top off the frustration, Leggett committed two careless throwaway turnovers, giving the Panthers 14 for the game, when the outcome was still in question.

“Unfortunately, we did not give ourselves a chance because we did turn the thing over. We missed free throws (five in the second half),” O’Toole said. “A couple of big rebounds. We have to go get it. We didn’t do it. The rest is history.”

The evening’s storyline involved two teams with losing ACC records still having plenty on the line.

• Pitt was hoping to earn a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament that starts Monday.

• N.C. State was trying to qualify for the tournament after the ACC decided the bottom three schools in the 18-team standings would not be part of the bracket.

Both needed help from others to reach those goals, but N.C. State did its part by handing Pitt another loss. In the end, Lowe did all that he could do, scoring 20 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, leading the team in all three departments. Cam Corhen added 13 points, Leggett 12 and Amsal Delalic nine off the bench.

O’Connell led the Wolfpack with 15 points, and Pass added 14.

N.C. State opened the game by hitting four 3-pointers in the first five minutes, but Pitt kept pace when Lowe hit a 3-point shot and Leggett recorded a 3-pointer and a traditional and-one 3.

But after Leggett scored, Pitt played nearly five minutes without scoring.

After Zack Austin missed a dunk on an alley-oop pass from Lowe, N.C. State went ahead 20-17 with 9:30 left in the first half and kept the lead for the remainder of the half. There were four ties and five lead changes in the first half.

Coach Jeff Capel was cautious when Leggett collected his second foul, and the senior guard sat out the final nine minutes of the half.

Pass hit a personal-high three 3-pointers in the first half. The Wolfpack built a 34-30 lead at intermission after leading by as many as eight points.

Overall, N. C. State was 7 of 15 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.