Pitt Snaps 13-Game Losing Streak With Win Over Notre Dame
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Trey McGowens scored 16 points to lead Pittsburgh to a 56-53 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday in a battle to stay out of last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Pitt (13-18, 3-15) sent its three seniors off with a Senior Day win, while the Fighting Irish (13-18, 3-15) finished their regular-season on a seven-game losing streak.
The Panthers trailed by 12 in the first half, but a 10-0 run, including a thunderous dunk by McGowens over Notre Dame's John Mooney, put Pitt back into position to win.
McGowens' 16 points was the most for him since he scored 30 against Florida State on Jan. 14. Pitt is 7-1 in the eight games McGowens scored more than 15 points.
Pitt senior Jared Wilson-Frame scored 12 points, all from 3-point range, where he was 4 for 10.
Nate Laszewski led the offensive charge for the Irish. He scored a career-high 23 points and was 6 of 9 from 3-point range.
Notre Dame's leading scorer, John Mooney, was held to four points on 1 of 11 shooting, his lowest point total in ACC play this season.
BIG PICTURE
Notre Dame: The shorthanded Irish once again saw a game slip away in the second half, while mostly relying on six players.
The five Notre Dame starters all played more than 35 minutes and accounted for all but one of the Irish points.
Pitt: The Panthers snapped a 13-game losing streak, Pitt's second-longest losing streak in program history, which dates back to 1905. The second-longest losing streak came a year ago, when Pitt lost 19 straight to close the 2017-18 season.
Saturday's win was some catharsis for Wilson-Frame, who finished his Pitt career having played through two of Pitt's three below-.500 seasons this century.
UP NEXT
With the win, Pitt secured the No. 14 seed in the ACC tournament, which starts Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers will play the No. 11 seed Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Notre Dame, the No. 15 seed, will play the No. 10 seed Tuesday at 2 p.m.
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