Pittsburgh’s Ishmael Leggett missed a jumper as time expired and Carolina survived a hectic finish to beat the Panthers 67-66 at the Smith Center on Saturday afternoon. It’s UNC’s first home win against Pittsburgh in more than seven years and also avenges a defeat to the Panthers in January.

 

The final sequence saw Carolina miss front-end free throws of two separate one-and-one opportunities but hold Pitt scoreless for the last 2:03. Drake Powell and Seth Trimble both dove on the floor for a loose ball in the final 10 seconds, but it trickled over the sideline to give the ball back to the Panthers with 7.3 seconds remaining. After the ensuing inbound pass, Leggett drove the length of the floor but missed a contested jumper.

“Throughout the entire year, one of the consistent things this team has, has been fight,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “Whether it’s coming back from 18 or missing two front ends of a one-and-one and still understanding that we’ve got to lock in and we’ve got to get a stop in order to win. And consistently in the huddles… the guys kept saying this over and over again: ‘We’ve been here before. We’re not losing this game.'”

Indeed, the game was the 10th for Carolina this season decided by one possession, the most since the 1986-87 season. The Tar Heels are 6-4 in such games. It’s also the fourth game this season decided by a point. UNC is 2-2 in such games.

“I think we just like nail-biters at this point,” said R.J. Davis. “We just like to feel the pressure.”

Davis led all scorers with 18 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 52 seconds remaining which proved to be the game winner. Ven-Allen Lubin set a new season high with 17 points on 8-12 shooting, while Seth Trimble added 15. Trimble once again led Carolina in rebounding with seven.

“We knew it was gonna be a dogfight,” Lubin said. “Blood, sweat and tears, it’s gonna be all over the floor. But we know we’re gonna do whatever it takes to win.”

“This is kind of a do-or-die stage right now,” Trimble said. “We’re not shying away from it. It’s not making us nervous. We’re embracing it… to make this run that we’ve got to make, it starts with today.”

The win snaps a run of four losses in five games for the Tar Heels, though it does not qualify as a Quad 1 win according to the NCAA’s NET metrics. It does improve UNC to 14-10 overall and 7-5 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they visit Clemson on Monday night at 7 p.m., which will be a Quad 1 opportunity.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet. For a full photo gallery of the game, click here.

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