Virginia turns close game into 73-66 victory against Pitt

Whether the coach is embarrassed or proud — and Jeff Capel has been both in the past week — every loss looks the same in the standings.

It’s one more rung you get pushed down the ladder you’re trying to climb.

But during the 73-66 loss to No. 14 Virginia on Saturday, Pitt showed it is growing up, maturing and getting better. Maybe not enough to beat one of the nation’s best teams on its court, but the strides were tangible, Capel said.

The game was tied 36-36 with 16 minutes, 21 seconds to play, but the Cavaliers (13-3, 9-1 ACC) struck the decisive blow with a 16-0, four-minute run.

“I thought we came out ready to play,” Capel said of his team’s fourth loss in the past five games. “I thought we played well, except for that little stretch in the second half. We were able to fight to get back in it, to give ourselves a chance at the end.”

Pitt sophomore Justin Champagnie said the team can’t afford a “mental lapse.”

“We had a stretch in the game where we got down on ourselves,” he said. “We picked it back up, but by that time, it was a little bit too late.

“We have to learn to stay together and learn to fight out of it, instead of letting it linger on for plays and plays and plays.”

Virginia led by 17 with 7:22 left, but Pitt (9-6, 5-5) was within seven five minutes later. Champagnie recorded his ACC-leading ninth double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds), and Pitt scored 42 points in the paint, a difficult chore against Virginia’s Pack Line defense. Nonetheless, the Panthers never seriously threatened the lead.

“Their defense buckled down and forced us into some tough shots,” Capel said. “But I’m proud of my guys. We fought. Hopefully, it’s a lot of stuff we can build off of.”

Virginia is in the first place in the ACC, but Pitt scored the game’s first seven points and kept counter-punching until falling behind 30-27 at halftime.

The four-minute stretch in the second half was mainly a 3-point shooting barrage by Virginia’s 7-foot-1 Jay Huff and 6-8 Sam Hauser, who each had two. Overall, Virginia hit 12 of 24 from beyond the arc, and Pitt missed 10 of 14.

“They’re tough to defend,” Capel said. “Their shooting comes from their bigs. It’s a difficult matchup. It’s something that’s not common.”

The Cavaliers are led by point guard Kihei Clark, who held the same position in 2019 when they won the national championship.

That year, Virginia won four tense Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games. Two went into overtime, including the title game victory against Texas Tech.

After Clark recorded 11 points and eight assists against Pitt, Capel gave a vivid description of the Virginia junior and what he means to his team.

“He’s the head of the snake for their basketball team,” Capel said. “He does a lot of stuff that equates to winning. The only thing he thinks about is how can he help his team win. He’s been in big moments. He made some huge plays all afternoon for them.”

After beating No. 16 Virginia Tech on Wednesday, Pitt is in the midst of a difficult stretch. On Wednesday, the Panthers visit Louisville, which defeated Pitt, 64-54, on Dec. 22 at Petersen Events Center.

Pitt didn’t know it was playing Virginia on Saturday until three days before the game. Florida State was to be the opponent at the Pete, but the Seminoles are in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak. So the ACC moved up the Virginia game 18 days.

Capel is not surprised by the disruptions.

“This season has been so disjointed. I imagine the rest of the way it’s going to continue to be disjointed,” he said. “You have to make adjustments on the fly.”

He said the switch of opponents doesn’t bother the players.

“For the coaches, it can be a little bit more difficult, trying to make sure you’re prepared,” he said. “We were prepared to play Florida State. It rushes your preparation. You think that game is going to be Feb. 24. The assistant who’s in charge of the scouting for that particular game has to start watching stuff a little bit quicker.”

But he also said the identity of the opponent matters less than how his team is improving.

“We don’t need the other teams to help us mature,” he said. “We’re mature. (Saturday) was a big-time effort as far as maturity for our team. I’m hopeful no matter who we play, no matter who is in front of us, we continue to do that.”

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