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DURHAM, N.C. — Pitt basketball's tour of Tobacco Road ended with another loss Saturday as the Panthers fell to No. 21 Duke, 72-64, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The loss, Pitt's eighth straight, dropped the Panthers to 12-11 overall and 1-9 in ACC play to continue a disappointing first season under Kevin Stallings.
“I'm really disappointed for them because, obviously, we would have liked to have a different outcome,” Stallings said after the game. “It's a tough game to lose, but I still have good feelings about my team. They competed really hard.”
Pitt started the season 12-3, but hasn't tasted victory since an overtime win over then-No. 11 Virginia on Jan 4. Though Stallings hasn't spoken to a winning team in a month, he found kind words after dropping a second tough road game against a top-25 team.
“I told our team we're a heck of a lot better than we were a couple weeks ago,” Stallings said. “Unfortunately, that and a quarter will get you nothing. But I feel like we're getting better and that's all we can do.”
The Blue Devils (18-5, 6-4 ACC) were clearly inspired by the return of Mike Krzyzewski from back surgery. They went 4-3 with associate head coach Jeff Capel in charge in the interim, winning their previous two games on the road in a span of 48 hours.
“His energy, his fight, his spark, seeing him in the huddle was big for us,” guard Grayson Allen, who led Duke with 21 points, including 18 in the second half, said of Coach K. “Coach Capel and his staff did a great job and they made sure that the program stayed up while (Krzyzewski) was gone, but having Coach back and having his face and energy on the sideline was nice.”
Michael Young gave Pitt its first lead of the game with 12:29 left in the first half as the Panthers led by as many as four points before taking a 28-28 tie into halftime.
Duke's poor shooting from 3-point range (3 of 13) in the first half allowed Pitt to apply pressure despite eight first-half turnovers.
Pitt's flurry of turnovers continued in the second half as three Panthers possessions within the span of 90 seconds midway through the half ended in giveaways. Luckily for Stallings, Duke missed nearly a half-dozen shots in that span, keeping the score at 39-37 Duke.
Duke's touch from deep seemed to remedy itself as the Blue Devils opened up a 55-49 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Allen and Frank Jackson.
Another 3 from Allen gave Duke a 60-51 lead with 4:18 remaining. The Panthers failed to get closer than 60-57 the rest of the way.
“You forget how lucky you are until something is taken away from you,” Krzyzewski said. “I'm going to be 70 years old in a week or so, and I still get this?”
Pitt's next chance to break its losing streak is Wednesday at Boston College.
Young led all scorers with 24 points, and Jamel Artis added 17.
“Duke's shot-making in the end was the difference. Our twos just couldn't beat their 3s in the second half,” Stallings said. “They're a terrific shooting team with a bunch of guys who can make them.”
Associated Press contributed. Travis Durkee is a freelance writer.
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