Jeff Capel stood for nearly all 40 minutes of Pitt’s 54-53 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center.

He directed traffic on the court, encouraged his players, sometimes lowered his head when a play didn’t work, perhaps occasionally thought about slamming his hand on the scorer’s table — but never actually did it.

So, when Pitt went scoreless in the game’s final three minutes, couldn’t get a defensive rebound when it really mattered, lost a three-point lead and stretched its losing streak to three, his response was predictable.

“This one hurts,” Capel said. “All of them hurt, but this one really does.

“This is a gut punch. If we can get just one defensive rebound the last two possessions, maybe it’s a little different.”

The details of the game are simple. Sophomore center John Hugley scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. He even dived on the floor for a loose ball, saving a late possession and giving the impression that this was Pitt’s night.

Overall, Hugley hit 9 of 16 from the field, but eight teammates made only 11 baskets while taking 36 shots. The next two highest scorers were Jamarius Burton and Femi Odukale, and they each scored six.

“We got some good looks. We just couldn’t knock them down,” Capel said, clearly disappointed.

Pitt never led by more than eight points and allowed Minnesota (6-0) to trim the lead to three with three minutes to play. As the clocked ticked toward the end of the game, the Gophers grabbed two offensive rebounds before Payton Willis made a layup with 39 seconds left to make the score 53-52.

Still, Pitt was in control with Burton taking charge at the point. He took his time and tried a shot outside the paint, but it missed. The rebound went to Minnesota’s Jamison Battle.

“We tried to open the floor and allow JB the chance to make a read off of it,” Capel said. “It got to a spot. We just didn’t make a shot.”

Down one, Minnesota had two chances to win the game. Meanwhile, Pitt was unable to get a decisive rebound. Luke Loewe tipped in E.J. Stephens’ miss on a driving layup with two seconds left, and that decided the outcome.

With four nonconference games remaining, Pitt (2-5) needs to win them all to avoid a losing record outside the ACC. Before the start of 2021-2022, Pitt had lost only 11 nonconference games at the Pete in 20 seasons. So far this season, Pitt is 2-4 in nonconference home games.

Capel said he believes better days are ahead for his team, if the players maintain their current attitude.

“I thought we defended well enough to win, but we didn’t win,” Capel said. “Disappointing, hurt for our guys, but proud of the effort. I’m proud of my guys for continuing to show up and continuing to fight. I do really feel like good things will happen for us if we continue to do that.”

Some of the numbers on the stat sheet were in Pitt’s favor, including a 40-33 edge in rebounding and Minnesota’s shooting percentage (37.3). Pitt committed only 12 turnovers, slightly better than its nearly 16 per-game average.

But the Panthers continued to struggle from outside the 3-point arc. After missing 12 of 15 and allowing the Gophers to hit 7 of 19, the Panthers have been outscored 198-81 on 3-point shots in seven games.

“I’d like to make more shots and I’d like not to have double-figure turnovers,” Capel said. “To hold them to under 40%, yes. That’s absolutely what we would like to do. That has to be part of the recipe for us to win. Very disappointing that we did those things and didn’t finish at the end.

“We’re taking lumps, but we’re learning. The thing I keep telling our guys is as long as we keep showing up with the right attitude, the right mindset, fighting, fight for each other, positive things will happen. It may not look like it now, but I’m a firm believer in that.”

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