PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers appeared dead in the water. With 2:22 to play in the eighth, there was no reason this team, who had been so lackluster and uninspiring all afternoon, had a prayer of victory. They did anyway.
The energy and enthusiasm of this Panthers team came roaring back in the final minutes to top No. 20 Miami and win its third game of the year against the top seed for the program.
Capitalizing on the momentum
The lead up to this Miami game is comparable to the weeks and games leading up to the Clemson game earlier this year. The Panthers had some good wins and entered that weekend looking to battle for first place in the ACC away from the Tigers. A great crowd was behind them, but Pitt failed to capitalize and lost to a team that was leading the conference standings in Game 1.
This time the Panthers rewarded a rousing home crowd with a stunning and decisive victory. They overcame an eight-point deficit with 2:22 left in the final and were happy to see their fans pumped up and play for their second win in the last five tries, fourth in a row and fourth in a row.
The win will have some tangible impact on Pitt’s postseason career, but more importantly, it came in front of a packed house with back-and-forth swings. There are fans who remember that comeback, the roar of the crowd and the sense of community that comes from collective success.
“Thank you,” head coach Jeff Capel said of the atmosphere. I feel like people relate to this team and this team and we’re grateful.
Surviving poverty with peace
Make no mistake – the road to this victory was uneventful and Pitt stole this game from Miami. The Panthers didn’t play particularly well on the afternoon and they still missed out on a third place finish this season. Their turnovers and missed layups sank the Panthers into a deep hole, but the experienced makeup of this team allowed them to play within themselves and chip away.
Jamarius Burton scored on a 3-pointer with 11 minutes left in the game. They then dropped eight in a row, helped by leading scorers Blake Hinson and Greg Elliott. Pitt continued to make enough plays and sealed the victory with an 11-0 run at the right time in the final 2:03.
This isn’t just a one-off, it’s a template for the Panthers, who have shown time and time again that their minutes played and logged are more than fun facts for game notes and broadcasts — they’re valuable resources for a team. He plays regularly in tight games. It allows you to avoid panic when the road is difficult and to do what is necessary at any time.
“One of the things we’ve preached all year — and it started early in the year when we lost those three games — is to stay grounded,” Capel said. “Don’t worry about the past, don’t worry about the future, just focus on the present and try to control what we can control and we showed that in the games.”
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Greg Elliot Redemption Arch
That composure Capel mentioned was best exemplified by Greg Elliott’s sequence in the final seven seconds of the game.
After Hinson returned the eighth and ninth punts of their 11-0 run, Pitt took a one-point lead with 25.4 seconds left. Isaiah Wong went one-on-one with Jamarious Burton and lost, turning the ball over to the Panthers and drawing a foul. On the play, Elliott was the go-to guy and simply had to get the ball to one of his teammates for Miami to create a foul and Pitt trying to ice the game at the penalty line. Instead, a pass to Burton hit the baseline, giving Miami one more shot at the game-winning play.
Elliott, a graduate of 135 career games, was on a mission to stay at Capel, and on the last possession he stood tall, drew a turnover and made both free throws to put Pitt within 3 goals. 2.4 seconds to play.
“The last play is 7.1 seconds, we got the ball, we turned it over and we didn’t get sacked again and again,” Capel said. “The guy who turned it over got a steal, got fouled, hit two free throws and made it a three-point game. That’s what we’ve been doing all year and I hope we can continue like that.”
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