Blake Hinson scored 27 points and Pitt snapped No. 21 Virginia’s eight-game winning streak with a 74-63 victory in Atlantic Coast Conference action on Tuesday in Charlottesville, Va.
The Panthers (16-8, 7-6 ACC) knocked down 14 3-pointers, won their fourth straight game and improved to 6-2 on the road this season.
Pitt also halted a 23-game home winning streak by the Cavaliers (19-6, 10-4), which had been the longest active run in the nation. It was the second road upset of a ranked team for the Panthers, who stunned then-No. 7 Duke on Jan. 20 in Durham, N.C.
Hinson was 5 of 13 from behind the arc, 11 of 19 overall. Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett scored 13 points, Jaland Lowe added 12 points and Carlton Carrington had nine points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Reece Beekman scored 19 points and Isaac McKneely had 15 for Virginia (19-6, 10-4).
Pitt led by four at halftime and stretched it to 38-31 on Hinson’s 3-pointer to start the second half.
In a game with nine ties and 11 lead changes, Virginia responded with a 12-2 run for a 43-40 lead.
Consecutive 3-pointers from Lowe and Hinson midway through the half put the Panthers up 58-51.
Another 3-pointer by Hinson extended Pitt’s advantage to 64-54 with 6:30 left, and the Cavaliers couldn’t shoot their way back into the game.
Virginia had held 48 consecutive ACC opponents to fewer than 70 points at John Paul Jones Arena. Carrington’s layup with 3:02 left put Pitt up 70-56.
The Cavaliers shot 50 percent from the field and only committed five turnovers but couldn’t overcome the 3-point discrepancy, finishing 4-for-14 (28.6 percent) from behind the arc. The Panthers shot 14-for-32 (43.8 percent) from long range and turned 11 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.
Pitt held the biggest lead of the first half at 22-15 after a 10-2 run featuring a four-point play by Carrington.
Virginia scored seven straight points and grabbed a 25-24 edge on Beekman’s layup.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Lowe and Hinson put the Panthers back in front 30-25 with 4:41 to go until the break.
Pitt then went scoreless until Guillermo Diaz Graham’s trey with 20 seconds remaining for a 33-31 lead. Leggett added two free throws in the final seconds to set the halftime margin.
–Field Level Media