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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Pitt entered Tuesday night's game against No. 12 North Carolina on the wrong end of a six-game losing streak. And, despite being a heavy underdog, the Panthers stayed with the Tar Heels every step of the way.
In the end, however, North Carolina eked out an 80-78 victory in ACC play at Dean E. Smith Center.
It's the first seven-game losing streak since the 2011-2012 season for the Panthers (12-10, 1-8), who missed a potential go-ahead off-balance 3-pointer by Jamel Artis at the buzzer.
First-place North Carolina (20-4, 8-2) leads the ACC in rebounding margin and used a 20-6 edge in second-chance points to bolster its strong shooting.
It was enough to overcome an outstanding shooting night from the Panthers, who made 55.6 percent of their shots.
Both teams started the night shooting well, and both topped the 50 percent mark from the floor in the game's first 20 minutes.
Justin Jackson had 13 of his 20 points in the opening half, including three 3-pointers. Pitt's Cameron Johnson also reached double figures in the first half, scoring 10 of his season-high 24 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Michael Young added 19 for the Panthers, and Jamel Artis had 17.
Joel Berry II had 19 for the Tar Heels.
A putback by Rozelle Nix tied the score at 20-20 with just over nine minutes to go in the opening half. Later, Artis hit a 3-pointer from straight away to make it 40-36 with 24.5 seconds left.
The Tar Heels led 42-36 at intermission.
Both squads stayed hot early in the second half. Pitt hit its first five shots, and North Carolina connected on 5 of its first 7 attempts from the floor.
Chris Jones got in on the act, hitting just his third 3-pointer of the season before knocking down another jump shot.
A Johnson three leveled the score at 49-49, but baskets from Bahis Siteleri Berry and Jackson helped the Tar Heels take a 54-51 advantage into the under-16 timeout.
The Tar Heels went on an 8-0 run over the next few minutes, all of which came from either the free-throw line or shots from the paint.
Johnson stopped the run with a 3 from the left corner, and Artis added another on the next possession, sparking a Stallings timeout with the score 62-57 with 11:02 remaining.
Luke Maye hit a corner 3 out of the timeout, and after the media stoppage, Hicks' three-point play helped North Carolina grab a 68-59 lead with 7:40 left.
A Young 3 from straight away snapped a three-minute scoring drought, and then he followed it up with another from nearly the same spot to give UNC a 68-65 lead at the 4:48 mark.
Isaiah Hicks grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds on the next trip and converted a pair of free throws to make it a five-point game with 3:49 left.
A Johnson 3 cut it to 71-68 with 3:20 left, and an Artis turnaround jumper from the baseline made it 71-70 with 1:55 remaining in regulation.
UNC went more than five minutes without a field goal, until Berry drove in for a layup on the next possession. His free throw made it 74-70 with 1:38 left.
An Artis 3-pointer made it 74-73, and Jackson responded with a layup at the one-minute mark.
Pitt had a chance to tie the game, but Young's 3 rimmed out, and the Tar Heels scored the next two points to make it 78-73.
Jones banged home a corner 3 to make it 78-76 with 13.5 seconds left, and Jackson hit a free throw to make it 79-76 with just under 10 seconds left.
The Tar Heels spent a timeout, which gave Pitt the chance to draw up a play. The Tar Heels chose to foul Artis before he could launch a potential game-tying 3. He made the free throws, and Young fouled Hicks with 4.8 seconds left. He missed the first but made the second.
Artis brought the ball up, but his fade-away 3 from the right wing was no good.
Randy Capps is a freelance writer.
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