Turns out, the gut punches aren’t in the past for the 2021-22 Pitt basketball team.

After suffering a pair of one-point defeats in the early portion of the schedule, the Panthers experienced it again Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center when a valiant effort on almost all fronts couldn’t avoid a 68-67 loss to Notre Dame.

The loss drops Pitt’s record to 5-8 overall and 0-2 in the ACC, and it broke the Panthers’ two-game winning streak.

The first half was defined by defense. Pitt forced Notre Dame into seven turnovers, three shot clock violations and at least two more possessions that almost went to zero. The Panthers didn’t explode on offense themselves before halftime, but they had some key elements working.

The first was Femi Odukale, whose nine points all came on and-1 conversions. Fresh off ACC Co-Player of the Week honors, the sophomore guard also handed out three assists in the first half, and his point total was matched by Mo Gueye, who sank two three’s plus a basket and a free throw to get nine points of his own.

Pitt’s strong play in the first half carried into the second frame. With baskets from four different players, the Panthers took a 39-33 lead three minutes in and then pushed the lead to eight at 53-45 with less than eight minutes to play.

But then the Irish went on a run. With two three-pointers and four free throws, Notre Dame closed the gap as Pitt went cold offensively. The Panthers missed four three-point attempts over a two-minute span and the 53-45 lead turned into a 55-55 tie and then a 58-57 deficit.

From there, the game went back and forth. Notre Dame stretched the lead to four points at 61-57, but Pitt tied at 63-63 on a Jamarius Burton three with less than two minutes to play.

Notre Dame answered with a three at the other end - the Irish’s fifth triple in the final eight minutes - but John Hugley hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to one before Odukale drew his fourth and-1 of the game.

This time, though, Odukale missed the free throw, leaving Notre Dame a window to take the lead, and that’s exactly what happened: Irish guard Prentiss Hubb dribbled the shot clock down to the final seconds before pulling up for a tough fadeaway jumper that went down with 5.6 left in the game.

Burton brought the ball up the court and drove into the lane, but he couldn’t get a foul or a basket, and the clock ended with Pitt trailing by one.

Hugley finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 free throws after scoring just five in the first half. Burton (15 points), Gueye (14 points) and Odukale (13 points) also scored in double figures.

But the Panthers were hurt by free throw shooting, missing six of their 22 attempts - which obviously loomed large in a one-point loss.

Pitt will look to get its first ACC win of the seasons this Saturday at Virginia Tech, although that game appears to be in question after the Hokies’ scheduled Wednesday game at North Carolina was postponed due to Covid issues in the Virginia Tech program.