Louisville needed a career game from Chucky Hepburn to get a home victory over the valiant Pittsburgh Panthers and Hepburn delivered in style as the Cardinals prevailed 79-68.
No. 19 Louisville (23-6, 16-2 in the ACC) remained in the conference title race due to a couple of explosive Hepburn-led runs that made the difference in the game. Pittsburgh (16-13, 7-11) lost an excellent opportunity to post a resume-boosting win in the opening game of March.
After Pitt took a 22-21 lead with 5:36 to play in the first half on a 3-pointer from Guillermo Diaz Graham, Hepburn took over. In Louisville’s next seven possessions, Hepburn drained six 3-pointers. The only possession in the run that didn’t include a Hepburn bomb came when the Cardinals were fouled before Hepburn could get a shot away. The sixth Hepburn 3-pointer gave him 24 points in the half and staked Louisville to a 39-29 lead.
Pittsburgh rallied and claimed a 62-59 advantage on a Zack Austin 3-pointer with 7:39 to play, but Hepburn contributed five more points to a 9-0 Louisville run to open up a six-point advantage that proved decisive. Pitt shot just 10-for-32 (31 percent) in the second half.
Hepburn finished with a career-high 37 points, shooting 9-for-11 overall, including 6-for-6 from 3-point range, and sinking 13 of 17 free throws. Terrence Edwards Jr. added 23 points and seven rebounds for the Cardinals.
Pitt was led by an all-around game from Jaland Lowe, who tallied 16 points, 10 boards and five assists. Austin added 15 points and Diaz Graham chipped in 13 more. Ishmael Leggett tallied 10 points but shot 4-for-15.
Louisville returns to action on Wednesday at home against California. The Cardinals remain in the ACC title race with Duke and Clemson. The Panthers will be on the road at NC State on Wednesday. Pitt has sealed a losing record in ACC play for the regular season.
–Field Level Media
