The North Carolina men’s basketball team (13-9, 6-4 ACC), fell to the Pittsburgh Panthers (14-6, 5-4 ACC), 73-65, on Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center.
Costly turnovers and foul trouble plagued UNC, bringing its Quad 1 record to 1-8 on the season. Another late game collapse was also to blame, with the Tar Heels failing to score a point in the final three minutes.
Sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau got the Tar Heels started with two quick baskets. North Carolina extended its lead to 8-2 following two drives by first-year guard Ian Jackson.
Pittsburgh guard Ishmael Leggett gave the Panthers life with four points of his own to cut the deficit to 13-8.
Graduate forward Jae'Lyn Withers found the bottom of the net on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Tar Heels a five-point lead. Cadeau made a beautiful pass to cutting first-year forward Drake Powell who finished amongst the trees, extending the lead to 20-15.
After going up 23-18 on free throws from junior guard Seth Trimble, the Panthers went on a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game with just under ten minutes left in the half.
Both teams traded baskets, but a shifty step back from graduate guard RJ Davis gave the Tar Heels a three-point lead, giving UNC some breathing room heading into the under-eight timeout.
Strong first half play continued for Cadeau, who hit a tough layup and delivered an excellent cross-court pass to Powell, who found the bottom of the net from beyond the arc. A deep 3-pointer from Davis gave the Tar Heels an eight point lead with under five minutes remaining.
Amidst a Panthers scoring drought, the Tar Heels found themselves with a ten point lead courtesy of junior forward Ven-Allen Lubin, who executed a flawless hookshot.