Cavaliers Fall to Pitt, 74-63

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The hot-shooting Pittsburgh Panthers (16-8, 7-6 ACC) made 14 3-pointers en route to a 74-63 defeat of the No. 21 Virginia Cavaliers (19-6, 10-4 ACC) on Tuesday night (Feb. 13) at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavaliers shot 50 percent (25 of 50), but were outscored 42-12 from beyond the arc. The visitors out-rebounded Virginia 35 to 25.

Reece Beekman (19 points, six rebounds) and Isaac McKneely (15 points, 5 for 9 shooting) led the Cavaliers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a 10-3 Pitt run put the Panthers up 22-15 midway through the first half, the Cavaliers orchestrated a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead (25-24). The visitors made three triples in the final six minutes of the stanza to snag a 35-31 lead at the break. Virginia shot 48 percent (13 of 27) from the field while 24 of 35 of Pitt’s points in the first half came from beyond the arc. McKneely led all scorers in the opening 20 minutes with 10 points off 3 for 5 shooting and three consecutive makes from the charity stripe.

A 9-0 Virginia scoring run, capped off by Beekman connecting with Blake Buchanan for a soaring dunk, put the Cavaliers back on top (40-38) four minutes into the second half. The two sides battled back and forth for the next five minutes until Pitt’s 12-3 burst gave them a 10-point lead (64-54) at the 6:30 mark. Virginia was unable to regain the lead.

UP NEXT
Virginia hosts Wake Forest in ACC action on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for Noon on ESPN2.