Jamarius Burton recorded 20 points and eight rebounds and John Hugley added 19 points as Pittsburgh rolled to a solid 65-53 home win over Louisville in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday afternoon.
Mouhamadou Gueye added 10 points eight rebounds with 10 points for the Panthers (7-10, 2-3 ACC).
Malik Williams scored 12 points for Louisville (10-7, 4-3), which lost its third straight game. Noah Locke, who returned to the starting rotation, added 10 points and El Ellis, who got his second-consecutive start, also scored 10.
Pitt led throughout the entire second half and gained its first double digit lead at 42-32, with 12:57 remaining on a 3-pointer by Femi Odukale in transition off a forced turnover. Odukale was the fourth Pitt player to score in double figures as he finished with 10.
The Panthers seemed to put things away for good on a 3-pointer by Gueye with 3:16 remaining to make it 60-47.
Louisville was limited inside gaining just four offensive rebounds and three second-chance points. Williams did record a double-double with 13 rebounds. Williams’ 3-point shot with five seconds remaining closed the scoring.
The Panthers traded scoring runs with the Cardinals early in the first half. Louisville had an 11-0 run to take a 22-17 lead with 7:37 left in the first half. Pitt had an 8-0 run to get a lead it wouldn’t relinquish at 25-22 with 4:35 left in the half.
The Panthers led 28-24 at halftime.
Pitt forced its will inside on offense and defense, scoring 34 points in the paint and recording five blocks. The Panthers also held the overall rebounding advantage at 41-32.
The Panthers shot 43.6 percent (24 of 55) as Louisville struggled at 33.3 percent (19 of 57). Only six players figured into the scoring for the Cardinals.
The Pitt victory splits the season series with the Cardinals. Louisville earned a home victory against the Panthers, 75-72 on Jan. 5.
–Field Level Media