Pitt Gets Early Lead, Trips Up UNC at Home

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Pittsburgh guard Ithiel Horton went a perfect 5-for-5 from downtown, finishing with 19 points as the Pitt Panthers defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 76-67 in the Dean Smith Center.

Horton, a transfer from the University of Delaware, is averaging 20.3 points and 4.3 rebounds on 57% shooting from three over the last three games.

UNC (18-8, 10-5 ACC) came into this game having won six of their last seven games, being led by Junior big man Armando Bacot. Bacot struggled in this conference matchup, finishing with just seven points.

The Tar Heels got out to a quick 12-8 lead midway through the first half following some buckets from forward Brady Manek. The Panthers responded by going on an impressive 32-11 run to end the half led by Horton’s 13 first-half points.

The Panthers (11-16, 6-10 ACC) ended the half shooting a first half season-high 56% from the field, going into halftime up 40-23. All five Pitt starters finished in double figures and accounted for all of their 40 first-half points.

UNC began the second half with points on three consecutive possessions from Bacot and Manek, trimming their deficit to 13. Manek finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

As the momentum seemed to trend the Tar Heels way, Sophomore forward John Hugley converted a four-point play which pushed the Pittsburgh lead back to 17.

Just when things looked out of reach, guard Kerwin Walton sparked an 8-0 run of his own for North Carolina. Walton finished with 11 points and two steals.

After a rough first half, Tar Heels guard Caleb Love came alive late as he scored 15 points in the last six minutes for UNC — trimming the Pitt lead to just six with 1:49 left. Love began his rally when three Pitt starters went to the bench in foul trouble with 7:09 left in the game.

The late surge from Love was silenced following a bucket plus the foul from Hugley, putting the Panthers up nine with 50 seconds remaining. Hugley would finish with 18 points and five rebounds for the Panthers on 6-of-10 shooting.

The Tar Heels look to bounce back on the road on Saturday as they take on Virginia Tech on ESPN2.