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basketball Edit

Clemson handles Pitt 72-52

The 2019-20 Pitt basketball team has followed a similar blueprint many times this season. The team starts slow, claws back into the game, but comes up short down the stretch. That was all true of Pitt's 72-52 loss to Clemson at the Petersen Events Center on Wednesday night.

The Panthers got down by as many as 19, but Pitt fought its way back and cut the deficit to 51-45 lead with 7:03 left in the game. Clemson subsequently went on a 9-2 run of its own to get the lead back up to double digits and ultimately pull away for a hard-fought road victory.

Clemson had been a team struggling with 3-pointers this season, but made 13 3-pointers against the Panthers on Wednesday. The Tigers were led offensively by Al-Amir Dawes, who finished with 18 points and was 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Tevin Mack chipped in with 16 for the Tigers, who improved to 12-12 on the season with the win.

Pitt's struggles with Clemson have been ongoing. The Tigers swept the season series last season with a pair of double-digit wins over the Panthers. Pitt particularly struggled with the 3-point line on Wednesday, both defending it and making from it. Pitt was just 4-of-14 from deep on Wednesday.

Pitt was paced on offense by freshman forward Justin Champagnie. He finished with 11 points, but was just 3-of-9 from the field. Au'Diese Toney also found double figures and scored 10 points himself.

Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens continued struggling shooting the basketball. The sophomore duo were just 2-of-20 from the field combined. Johnson did not make a single field goal and all 8 of his points came from the free-throw line.

Ryan Murphy returned to action after missing the past three games while in concussion protocol. He proved to be ineffective and did not attempt a single shot in 16 minutes of action.

The game itself ended on a somber note as Eric Hamilton converted a dunk, but landed on the ball coming down and hurt his ankle. Pitt's depth is already depleted and can't afford to take too many more hits.

Pitt falls to 15-10 on the season and slips to 6-8 in ACC play. The Panthers will return to action on Saturday when the team travels to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech for a 6:00 p.m. tip.

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