If Pitt was overwhelmed by the emotion from Notre Dame coach Mike Brey’s final home game, the Panthers picked a bad time for a letdown.

Whatever the reason, the result was a damaging — and embarrassing — 88-81 loss to the Irish on Wednesday night in South Bend, Ind.

The Irish (11-19, 3-16 ACC) led by as many as 20 points, 61-41, with 11 minutes, 36 seconds left in the game. Pitt cut the lead to 84-79 with 38 seconds to play but crawled no closer.

“We just needed a couple things to go our way right there,” coach Jeff Capel said, “and they didn’t.”

“We knew it was going to be tough for the juice they were having from coach Brey’s last game,” Pitt assistant coach Milan Brown said on the 93.7 FM postgame show. “Not until the last 10 minutes of the second half that we just went after them. Unfortunate, but we have to take our lumps and learn. The guys knew what was at stake, and we just didn’t come up big.”

It was the first game for Pitt after it was ranked for the first time this season (No. 25) in the Associated Press Top 25.

At one point in the second half while Notre Dame was exerting its dominance, ACC Network commentator Jordan Cornette said, “It’s too easy. It’s just too easy.”

Pitt (21-9, 14-5) wasted an opportunity to gain a share of the ACC regular-season championship and nail down the coveted double bye in the conference tournament next week. If Pitt loses at Miami on Saturday night, the Panthers could fall to a No. 5 seed and be forced to win four games in four days to win the tournament.

The Panthers are in a three-way tie for first place with Miami and Virginia.

Meanwhile, Brey recorded his 483rd victory in 23 years.

Pitt struggled in all facets of the game, especially in two areas where the Panthers had been strong in the first 29 games: shooting from the free-throw line (20 of 36, 55.6%) and the 3-point arc (7 of 22, 31.8%).

In the first 29 games, Pitt had made 77.1% of its free throws (38 of 42 in the previous two games). Before Wednesday, Pitt had been 35.9% from beyond the arc.

“You have to make them pay and capitalize on the free-throw line,” Brown said. “You miss 16 free throws in a game that’s decided by seven points. Just one of those uncharacteristic nights.”

Said Capel: “I don’t know why. We just didn’t make them.”

Capel also pointed to Pitt’s inability to defend. Only Michigan, a team that scored 91 points Nov. 16, scored more points against Pitt than Notre Dame did.

“There were some mental mistakes defensively. There was some lack of communication defensively,” Capel said. “We didn’t defend well the whole game. Part of it had to do with us.

“They played terrific. I thought we fought and we were ready to play. We just didn’t play as well. We had an off night.”

Guard Nelly Cummings added, “Defensively, we didn’t do what we can do. I think we were ready for the game the same way we’ve been ready for every game. They came out inspired.”

Five Notre Dame players reached double-digit points, led by Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan (20 each). Nate Laszewski and Trey Wertz had 14 each and Dane Goodwin 12.

Cummings, Nike Sibande and Jamarius Burton led Pitt with 19 points each. Blake Hinson recorded a double-double (15 points, 13 rebounds). Cummings scored 12 of Pitt’s last 16 points.

Except for the final minutes when Pitt rallied, nothing worked. The Panthers’ dilemma went from bad to worse late in the first half after an 11-0 Irish run, and Pitt went to the locker room trailing 42-28 after going scoreless for the final four minutes. Notre Dame’s total represented the second-most points the Irish scored in the first half of an ACC game this season.

Pitt’s defense allowed too many open looks for the Irish, who shot 51.9% from the field (14 of 27), 7 of 15 beyond the 3-point arc and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in the first half.

“We got beat on a couple switches,” Brown said. “I think some of the things that happened to us defensively bled into our offense.”

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