Pitt shooting goes cold late in loss to No. 19 Louisville

In the aftermath of Pitt’s 79-68 loss at No. 19 Louisville, there will be plenty of positive talk about how the Panthers actually carried a three-point lead into the game’s final seven minutes against one of the ACC’s best teams.

Yes, there was a moment or two Saturday night when Pitt looked like it actually could win the game and upset the Cardinals in front of a hostile crowd of 18,459 at the KFC Yum! Center.

“I’m proud of how we showed up and how we fought in a very hostile environment,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “We did some really good things. We weren’t able to sustain it down the stretch.”

All true, but Capel would be the last to overlook the facts of what boils down to just another loss:

• Pitt has lost 11 of its past 15 games to ACC opponents and three in a row after two four-game losing streaks previously this season.

• The Panthers missed 11 of 13 shots after Zack Austin’s 3-pointer gave them a 62-59 lead with 7 minutes, 39 seconds to play. They scored only six points the rest of the game.

“We feel confident in our guys making them. We just didn’t make them,” Capel said. “We put ourselves in a position where we had a chance. We missed some open looks. We took some that weren’t as good. We have to take them with confidence. Believe in them. Make sure your shot preparation is right. Don’t be afraid of the moment.”

• Many upsets are built upon accurate 3-point shooting, but Pitt was only 10 of 37 (27%) from beyond the arc, attempting 11 more long-range shots than 2-pointers. The Panthers had trouble getting clean looks from inside the arc against Louisville’s harassing defense.

• During those tense moments late when victory did not look like an outrageous outcome, the Panthers committed three turnovers. “Five possessions, three turnovers,” Capel said. “Those are moments when we have a chance to extend the lead and put a little bit more game pressure on them. We have to be better in those situations.”

• Pitt’s defense allowed too many easy baskets when Louisville scored 20 points in the last 6:52. “I thought our communication during that stretch was not as good as it maybe was earlier. We didn’t stop the ball. We ran into screens. We didn’t fight through screens. They were able to turn the corner and get downhill.”

If you’re grading on a curve, perhaps the loss could be excused because Louisville (23-6, 16-2 ACC) is only one game off the lead in the ACC and is one of the nation’s best teams. But it followed embarrassing losses to Florida State, Virginia — by 16 points at home — Notre Dame and Georgia Tech, a team that came into Petersen Events Center last week off a 15-point loss to Boston College. Pitt is in no position to make excuses.

For most of Saturday’s game, the Panthers (16-13, 7-11) exchanged blows with the Cardinals, building small leads in both halves. Louisville helped by committing 12 turnovers, and Pitt recorded seven steals.

The Cardinals, who are 23-0 when leading in the game’s final five minutes, jumped ahead 68-62 at 3:34 on three free throws and a basket by Chucky Hepburn and two dunks by James Scott.

Meanwhile, Pitt went 5¹⁄₂ minutes without a basket after Austin’s 3-pointer, missing all six shots from the field in that time. Plus, the Panthers missed four free throws in the second half after coming into the game second in the ACC in that department.

Jaland Lowe led the Panthers with 16 points, followed by Austin (15) and Guillermo Diaz Graham (13). Ishmael Leggett added 10, but he missed 11 of 15 shots.

Hepburn finished with a career-high 37 points after scoring 24 in the first half. He hit all six of his 3-pointers in the final 5:11 before halftime.

Capel called Hepburn the best guard Pitt has faced this season.

“That run he went on in the first half is as good as I’ve seen that I have played against or coached against,” Capel said. “For a guy to be that hot …

“Some of them we didn’t defend well. Some of them we did defend well. If you let a guy that talented start feeling it like that, then the basket becomes huge, and he gets into a zone and he was certainly in one.”

Capel was pleased, however, that his team kept the game close and only trailed by six at halftime in the midst of Hepburn’s outstanding surge.

“He was making everything. The crowd’s going crazy. We’re right there,” Capel said.

The Cardinals led 39-29 with 1:05 left, but Lowe, who ended up with 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals, scored the final four points of the first half to prevent a Louisville runaway.

“He did some good things. He was able to penetrate and find some guys, but collectively all of us, including him, we have to be better,” Capel said. “We have to guard people better. We can’t turn the basketball over, especially in key stretches. We have to be better in those situations. As the point guard, you’re in charge of it.”