Blake Hinson scores 27 as Pitt ends 23-game home winning streak for No. 21 Virginia, 74-63
AP
Feb 13, 2024
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) Blake Hinson scored 27 points and made five of Pittsburgh Panthers's 14 3-pointers, and the surging Panthers ended No. 21 Virginia Cavaliers's nation's-best 23-game home winning streak, 74-63 on Tuesday night.
Hinson had 18 points after halftime and Jaland Lowe finished with 12 for the Panthers (16-8, 7-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their fourth straight and sixth of seven, continuing their push into NCAA Tournament consideration.
“We're learning to love the fight,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said after his team's fifth ACC road win since January, and second against a ranked team. The first, 80-76 at No. 7 Duke on Jan. 20, snapped a 24-game losing streak against ranked foes.
“Earlier in conference play, you know ... we have several guys I should say that play a lot of minutes for us that had never gone through the gauntlet of the ACC, and we played hard, but we didn’t understand how to fight,” Capel said.
The Panthers finished with just eight turnovers, leading to four Virginia points.
“Our guys did a good job. We were greedy receivers. Guys came to the basketball when there was pressure and we were able to make plays,” Capel said.
Reece Beekman led Virginia (19-6, 10-4) with 19 points, but the Cavaliers' normally stout defense couldn't slow Pittsburgh, which took 32 of its 58 shots from beyond the 3-point line. Virginia's eight-game winning streak also ended, along with its 48-game string of holding ACC opponents under 70 points at home.
“They're a hard guard,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “They were prepared. They were tough. They were physical. I thought we really had a hard time handling their ball screens.”
The Panthers trailed 49-47 before Hinson's 3-pointer sparked a 17-5 run that included two more 3s by Hinson and one by Lowe. Pitt led 64-54 with 6:30 to play and Virginia couldn't make a dent the rest of the way.
Bennett hopes his team's recent run of winning can help bolster its confidence more than seeing all those streaks end can damage it.
“Even when we were in this stretch or winning games, you always begin again. Every game, every practice, you start over and say, all right, are we willing to, you know, lay it on the line and be as tough-minded as we can,” he said. “You don’t want success to soften you. You don’t want losing to discourage you.”
The opening 10 minutes were crisp, with neither team committing a turnover and the Panthers leading 22-18. Virginia used a 16-6 run to take a 31-30 lead, holding Pitt scoreless for 4:20, before the Panthers scored the last five of the half.
“We kind of drifted apart on both sides of the ball and that hurt us,” Beekman said. "So, you know, you just got to learn to stick together and, you know, do what we do.”
BIG PICTURE
Pittsburgh: The Panthers found success against the 15th-ranked 3-point defense in the country. Pitt leads the ACC with an average of 9.13 3s per game and made its ninth 18 seconds into the second half.
Virginia: The Cavaliers, playing as an AP Top 25 team for the first time since Dec. 19 at Memphis, haven't lasted more than a week in the poll in either of their two prior visits this year. They were No. 24 when they lost 65-41 to Wisconsin in a Florida tournament and No. 22 when they were beaten 77-54 at Memphis. All six of their losses this season have come by double figures.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home to face Louisville on Saturday.
Virginia remains at home and faces Wake Forest on Saturday.
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1st Half
PITT
Panthers
35
UVA
Cavaliers
31
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Federiko Federiko vs. Jordan Minor (Panthers gains possession)
19:40
Blake Hinson misses three point jump shot
19:38
Reece Beekman defensive rebound
19:17
+2
Jordan Minor makes two point layup (Reece Beekman assists)
0-2
18:51
+2
Blake Hinson makes two point jump shot
2-2
18:27
Andrew Rohde misses two point jump shot
18:25
Cavaliers offensive rebound
18:21
+2
Isaac McKneely makes two point jump shot (Reece Beekman assists)
2-4
17:57
+2
Blake Hinson makes two point layup
4-4
17:37
Jordan Minor misses two point jump shot
17:35
Carlton Carrington defensive rebound
17:29
Carlton Carrington misses three point jump shot
17:27
Panthers offensive rebound
17:23
Blake Hinson misses three point jump shot
17:21
Ryan Dunn defensive rebound
17:06
+3
Isaac McKneely makes three point jump shot (Andrew Rohde assists)
4-7
16:45
+3
Zack Austin makes three point jump shot (Carlton Carrington assists)
7-7
16:20
Federiko Federiko blocks Jordan Minor's two point dunk
16:18
Jaland Lowe defensive rebound
16:01
+2
Federiko Federiko makes two point dunk (Jaland Lowe assists)
9-7
15:40
+2
Isaac McKneely makes two point jump shot (Andrew Rohde assists)
9-9
15:19
Blake Hinson misses three point jump shot
15:17
Isaac McKneely defensive rebound
15:06
+2
Reece Beekman makes two point layup
9-11
14:50
Isaac McKneely personal foul
14:50
TV timeout
14:32
Jaland Lowe misses two point jump shot
14:30
Federiko Federiko offensive rebound
14:21
+3
Carlton Carrington makes three point jump shot (Blake Hinson assists)
12-11
13:52
Reece Beekman misses two point jump shot
13:50
Federiko Federiko defensive rebound
13:36
Jaland Lowe misses two point jump shot
13:34
Reece Beekman defensive rebound
13:18
+2
Blake Buchanan makes two point jump shot (Ryan Dunn assists)
12-13
13:01
+3
Ishmael Leggett makes three point jump shot (Blake Hinson assists)
15-13
12:31
Ryan Dunn misses two point layup
12:29
Ryan Dunn offensive rebound
12:26
Ryan Dunn misses two point jump shot
12:24
Carlton Carrington defensive rebound
12:21
+3
Carlton Carrington makes three point jump shot
18-13
12:21
Taine Murray shooting foul (Carlton Carrington draws the foul)
12:21
+1
Carlton Carrington makes regular free throw 1 of 1
19-13
11:56
+2
Reece Beekman makes two point jump shot
19-15
11:30
Carlton Carrington misses three point jump shot
11:28
Reece Beekman defensive rebound
11:19
Reece Beekman misses two point layup
11:17
Guillermo Diaz Graham defensive rebound
11:08
+3
Guillermo Diaz Graham makes three point jump shot (Ishmael Leggett assists)
22-15
10:42
+3
Jacob Groves makes three point jump shot (Blake Buchanan assists)