Pitt rallies late, but settles for loss to Miami in ACC championship showdown

Jeff Capel read the room and decided it was best to let his players be by themselves after the 78-76 loss to Miami on Saturday night in Coral Gables, Fla.

“They’re in there hurting,” he told reporters inside Watsco Center. “I made the decision just for me to come out here because they’re hurting. I want them to be able be by themselves and to be with each other and to deal with the emotions that they have and we have for losing this game.”

The outcome before a sellout crowd was difficult for the Panthers to accept because of the high stakes surrounding the game and the lost chance to make history.

With a victory, Pitt would have won the ACC regular-season championship, locked up the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and been a cinch to land a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years.

Instead, Miami (25-6, 15-5), which was dominant on the boards (42-20) and scored 25 second-chance points, will be the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.

Still, Pitt’s traveling party — coaches and players — believe they are ready for the postseason.

“No backdown, no quit,” assistant coach Milan Brown said on the 93.7 FM postgame show. “That was two really good teams playing for something they really wanted. In a tough environment, (Pitt) showed a lot of grit and determination. Just came up a little bit short.”

Added Capel: “I thought we gave a championship performance, championship effort.”

Pitt (21-10, 14-6) must settle for a No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament after entering Saturday’s game one victory from winning the conference championship. After losing double-bye privileges, Pitt will play the No. 12- or No. 13-seeded team — either Florida State or Georgia Tech — at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Greensboro, N.C.

In the last regular-season game, Pitt trailed by eight with 7 minutes, 17 seconds left but kept punching back at the Hurricanes.

Still, Miami was up 78-71 with 35 seconds left when Pitt’s Blake Hinson scored on a driving layup and a 3-pointer in a span of 14 seconds — thanks to the last of the Hurricanes’ 16 turnovers.

All of sudden, Pitt had the ball with a chance to win after Miami’s Norchad Omier missed a foul shot with 9 seconds left.

Pitt rushed up court, but Hinson’s 40-foot 3-point try that would have won the game hit the rim and bounced away.

“We wanted to push it,” Capel said. “Their defense engulfed us. We didn’t have great spacing. Almost went in, had a chance for an offensive rebound, unfortunately didn’t get it.

“We never blinked. To have a chance at the end, a one-possession game, a missed free throw and to come up short, it’s hard. Fortunately, we have more season left and we’ll be excited to play in the ACC Tournament.”

Capel said the game was decided by Miami’s offensive rebounds (14) and second-chance points.

“They have really good players. They have guys who are tough to keep out of the lane,” he said. “They made us pay just about every time they got offensive rebounds.”

Miami’s Wooga Poplar led the Hurricanes with 18 points — all on six 3-pointers, with a few coming after Pitt looked like it might make a run.

Pitt held Miami ACC Player of the Year candidate Isaiah Wong to nine points on 1-of-9 shooting, but Jordan Miller stepped up and scored 17. Omier recorded 15 points and 13 rebounds, including a second-chance dunk with 4:24 left after Pitt had cut the lead to four.

“That was really the thing that decided the game,” Capel said of the Hurricanes’ dominance off the glass.

There were seven lead changes in the first half, but Pitt never led in the second half. The Panthers hit 11 3-pointers, but Capel said there were moments when Pitt could have been cleaner with the ball.

“There were times we wanted to be organized, be under control,” he said. “There were a few times when I thought we didn’t do that. Usually, when we have situations like that, we don’t end up getting the type of shots we want.”

Hinson led all scorers with 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. Nike Sibande had 16 points in 28 minutes off the bench, and Jamarius Burton and Nelly Cummings added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

In answer to a direct question, Capel said — without amplification — that Pitt deserves an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. A 22nd victory next week might be enough.

First, the Panthers will come home and evaluate their third loss in the past five games before leaving for Greensboro, where they will need to win four games in four days to win the ACC Tournament. Brown said the date of the first game doesn’t matter.

“Just tell us what time the game starts and where we’re playing. If you want to schedule the game on blacktop, our dudes don’t care,” he said. “As long as the ball’s got air in it, we’ll be ready to play.”