Pitt crushes Louisville behind 41 points from Blake Hinson

Field Level Media|published: Sat 17th February, 20:52 2024

Feb 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers forward Blake Hinson (left) goes to the basket against Louisville Cardinals forward Danilo Jovanovich (13) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. credits: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Blake Hinson scored a career-high 41 points to surpass 1,000 for his career and help lead Pitt to an 86-59 rout of visiting Louisville on Saturday night.

Hinson entered the contest needing a dozen points to reach his career milestone. Hinson scored 27 points in the first half, matching Louisville's first-half total. Hinson bested his previous career high of 29 points shortly into the second half and finished four points shy of the program's single-game record, owned by Don Hennon (1957).

Kaleb Glenn had a team-high 17 points for the Cardinals (8-18, 3-12 ACC). Tre White had a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double. Mike James added 13 points and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 12.

Hinson's impressive effort helped the Panthers (17-8, 8-6) continue their strong recent stretch, which now includes five straight victories. He finished 14-for-24 from the field, including 9 of 13 from the 3-point line.

His first five points were the anchor of a 9-0 early run that provided Pitt an 11-2 cushion. Over the next three minutes, the Panthers went quiet, allowing Louisville to pull ahead 12-11.

Frustrations showed for Pitt during that Louisville charge, as Panthers coach Jeff Capel was assessed a technical foul after a foul call on Ishmael Leggett.

Hinson's second of five first-half treys put a stop to that momentum swing, however. The advantage changed another four times before Pitt managed to pry back open a nine-point gap on a 10-0 surge.

Hinson was scorching, shooting 9-for-14 before the midway point, including a 5-for-8 mark from deep. The Panthers owned a 37-27 edge at halftime.

Along with the scoring outburst from its offensive leader, Pitt led 5-0 in offensive boards, 7-0 in second-chance points, and 10-2 in points off turnovers in the first half.

The Panthers steadily climbed and never faced a deficit in the latter stages. Hinson sat on the bench for a spell while his crew maintained the advantage.

Jaland Lowe added 10 points, four rebounds, and five assists for Pitt. Leggett also had 10 points.

—Field Level Media

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