PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jamarius Burton scored a career-high 31 points, Blake Hinson had seven points in the final minute and a half and Pittsburgh knocked off No. 25 North Carolina 76-74 on Friday.
Burton, a graduate student, was 14 of 17 from the field and had six rebounds. He helped Pitt (10-4, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) win its fourth straight game and remain unbeaten in conference play.
Hinson’s 3-pointer from the right wing put Pitt ahead for good 70-67 with 1:28 remaining and he extended the Panthers’ lead by making two free throws with 36 seconds left and two more with 28 seconds to go to make it 74-69.
North Carolina (9-5, 1-2 ACC) closed the gap to two points, 74-72, on Tyler Nickel’s layup with two seconds left but Pitt ran out the clock to end the Tar Heels’ four-game winning streak.
Hinson finished with 16 points and six rebounds.
Armando Bacot led North Carolina with 22 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. It was his eighth double-double of the season. RJ Davis added 13 points and Pete Nance chipped in with 10 points.
North Carolina took a nine-point lead, 55-46 with 11:55 to go on a dunk by Bacot. Pitt responded by outscoring the Tar Heels 19-7 over nearly an eight-minute span and moved in front with 65-62 with 3:59 left on a three-point play and layup by Burton.
Two free throws by North Carolina’s Leaky Black tied it at 67-67.
North Carolina built a 26-17 advantage with 9:15 left in the first half on a pullup jumper by Caleb Love. However, Pitt went on a 13-4 run to tie the score at 30-all on a pair of free throws by Greg Elliott with 3:37 remaining.
The Tar Heels then scored 10 of the last 14 points in the half to pull back ahead 40-34.
Bacot nearly had a double-double by the break — 10 points and nine rebounds.
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: The Tar Heels seemed to be back on track by winning four games in a row following a four-game losing streak that dropped them from No. 1 to out of the Top 25. Friday’s game was a step backward.
Pittsburgh: The Panthers have won nine of 10 games since opening the season 1-3, seemingly taking coach Jeff Capel off the hot seat.
UP NEXT
North Carolina: Hosts Wake Forest on Wednesday night
Pittsburgh: Hosts No. 13 Virginia on Tuesday night.
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