Pitt comes up short against Clemson in crucial game for March chances
Chase Hunter and Joe Girard each scored 15 points and PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin each recorded double-doubles and Clemson beat Pittsburgh 69-62 on Tuesday night.
Schieffelin scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Hall scored 12 and secured 10 boards for the Tigers (20-8, 10-7 ACC).
Carlton Carrington scored 18 points, reserve Ishmael Leggett scored 15, Jaland Lowe 11 and Zack Austin 10 for Pitt (18-10, 9-8). Pitt committed only three turnovers but had just four assists on 20-for-61 shooting.
Clemson smothered Pitt leading scorer Blake Hinson (18.9 ppg), holding him to 2-for-9 shooting and six points. His last shot attempt occurred on the front end of a 1-and-1 at the foul line. His last field-goal attempt was a miss with 13:06 remaining. It was his second-lowest point total this season. Hinson had a 2-for-10 shooting effort, good for five points, in a 62-48 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Dec. 20.
Hinson was just four points shy of a program record when he posted a career-high 41 points on Feb. 17 in an 86-59 win over Louisville.
Carrington made consecutive 3-pointers to give Pitt a 50-46 lead with 8:44 left. But Hunter and Josh Beadle countered with back-to-back layups and Schieffelin made consecutive foul shots to give Pitt a 52-50 lead. Leggett tied it 52-all with 6:25 remaining before Beadle made consecutive layups and Clemson stayed ahead the rest of the way.
Carrington and Hall exchanged a pair of foul shots in successive possessions and Clemson led 63-60 with 1:27 to go. Hunter sealed it with a straight-on 3 that initially bounced high off the front of the rim and then fell through with 38 seconds left.
The Panthers led 31-27 at halftime.
Pitt travels to Boston College on Saturday and Clemson heads to Notre Dame, also on Saturday.