University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
11-19,4-13ACC
Florida State
16-14,9-8ACC
Panthers Fall 75-74 Despite Historic Second-Half Comeback on Senior Night
3/5/2026 12:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – The three seniors honored before the game on Wednesday night gave the Petersen Events Center everything they had. They just came up one point short.
Pitt rallied from a 24-point second-half deficit to pull within one in the final second but fell to Florida State, 75-74, Wednesday night at the Petersen Events Center. The loss drops the Panthers to 11-19 overall and 4-13 in ACC play.
Barry Dunning, Jr. was magnificent in his final home game as a Panther, scoring a season-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, while grabbing 10 rebounds to complete a double-double in 40 minutes of action. The Mobile, Ala. native was one of three seniors recognized prior to the contest along with Cameron Corhen and Damarco Minor, and delivered when the game needed him most, scoring 18 of his 26 points in the second half as Pitt mounted a remarkable rally.
Nojus Indrusaitis added 17 points off the bench, going a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Corhen chipped in 14 points and six rebounds in a Senior Night homecoming of sorts; the Allen, Texas native spent two seasons at Florida State before transferring to Pitt. Minor, completing his one season as a Panther, recorded 10 points and a game-high 10 assists.
Florida State took command early, connecting on eight three-pointers in the first half on its way to a 46-30 halftime advantage. The Seminoles pushed the lead to 24 in the opening minutes of the second half, and with 18 minutes still to play, the outcome appeared to be decided.
But the Panthers refused to fold. Dunning ignited the comeback with a corner three in the second half, and Pitt kept chipping away. The deficit was trimmed to six on another Dunning three-pointer, his fifth of the night, at 67-61 with six minutes remaining. Corhen converted two free throws to bring Pitt within four at 67-63. From there, the game turned into something the crowd at the Petersen Events Center will not soon forget.
Trailing 73-68 with under 20 seconds remaining, Indrusaitis hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to bring Pitt within three. On the ensuing possession, Pitt forced a turnover and Minor drained a three-pointer with nine seconds left to pull the deficit to two at 73-71.
Florida State's Robert McCray V then made both free throws of a 1-and-1 with five seconds remaining to push the lead to 75-71. But Minor, undeterred, found his footing one last time and knocked down another three with 1.3 seconds on the clock, his second three-pointer in the final 11 seconds of the game, to bring Pitt within one at 75-74. It was a stunning sequence, but Florida State was able to inbound and run out the clock, leaving the Panthers one point short.
Minor's two late triples capped a complete senior night performance from the fifth-year guard, who finished with 10 points and 10 assists, his first double-digit assist game as a Panther, to go with three rebounds. Omari Witherspoon contributed six points, four rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes.
Pitt's first half was its undoing. The Panthers shot just 32.3 percent (10-of-31) from the field and 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from three in the opening 20 minutes while committing nine turnovers. A technical foul late in the half allowed Indrusaitis to convert two free throws, and Corhen scored inside with six seconds left, but Florida State banked in a long heave to make it 46-30 at halftime.
The second half told a dramatically different story. Pitt shot 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field and a torrid 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from three after intermission, outscoring Florida State 44-29 in the half and making the final deficit almost unbelievable in the context of where the game stood at the midpoint. Pitt's bench outscored Florida State's bench 10-0 in the second half.
Dunning was the catalyst throughout the second half, going 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from three after the break. He played all 40 minutes, and his double-double was his third of the season, including his second in as many games.
Pitt was outscored in points in the paint, 32-24, but the Panthers held a 15-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Pitt closes the regular season Saturday at Syracuse. Tip-off at the JMA Wireless Dome is set for 4:30 p.m. on the ACC Network. For the Panthers, it is a must-win game. A victory clinches a bid to the ACC Tournament, and a loss ends their season.
