Notre Dame sinks shot in final seconds as Pitt drops ACC home opener

Looking to find an open Notre Dame teammate, Prentiss Hubb dribbled through the lane and into the left corner only to find himself all alone. As the shot clock ticked, the senior guard realized he was out of options.

So Hubb launched a turnaround jumper over the outstretched arm of Jamarius Burton that swished through the net with 6.3 seconds left, lifting the Fighting Irish to a 68-67 win over Pitt on Tuesday night in the ACC home opener at Petersen Events Center.

“Heck of a shot by Hubb at the end,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “I thought it was well-defended with the shot clock running down. He hit a tough shot.”

Hubb scored 13 of his 15 points for Notre Dame (7-5, 2-0) in the second half. After missing all three field goal attempts in the first half, he made 4 of 6 shots, including all three of his 3-point attempts, in the second half. The Irish trailed by as many as eight points before Hubb sank back-to-back 3s to spark a comeback.

“I was just getting better looks,” Hubb said. “It’s all a game of runs. I’ve just got to stay confident in my shot and not worry about the previous misses in the first half or even the next miss.”

It was the third loss in the conference home opener in four years under Jeff Capel for Pitt (5-8, 0-2), and their second consecutive one-point loss in conference play after a 57-56 setback at Virginia on Dec. 3. The Panthers also lost to Minnesota by one in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Notre Dame got the final say in a game that involved six ties and six lead changes. Capel blamed Pitt’s breakdowns in denying and defending the arc, where the Fighting Irish were shooting 34.8% this season. After giving up 59 3-pointers through the first six games, Pitt held its next six opponents to an average of 6.2 treys and 29.6% shooting from 3. Notre Dame made 10 of 22 from beyond the arc against the Panthers, including five over the final 7:24, when Pitt allowed the Irish to penetrate the lane and kick the ball out for open looks.

“We can’t afford to have those breakdowns against a team like this,” Capel said, “because they make you pay and make you pay with 3s.”

Notre Dame rallied behind a pair of 3-pointers by Hubb to cut it to 53-51, then tied the game at 55-55 on Blake Wesley’s two free throws. The Irish took the lead when Wesley fed Hubb for a wide-open 3 in the left corner and a 58-57 lead with 3:55 remaining.

“He’s such a winner, man,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “That’s the kind of stuff he’s done throughout his career, just saying, ‘I’m going to figure out a way for my team to win it.’”

Notre Dame took a 66-63 lead on Cormac Ryan’s 3-pointer with 1:23 left before Pitt forward John Hugley (18 points) got Paul Atkinson Jr. (16 points, eight rebounds) to pick up his fifth personal foul. Hugley sank two free throws to cut it to one with 1:06 remaining.

Femi Odukale drew a foul while scoring on a driving layup with 34.3 seconds left, setting up a potential three-point play after converting three in the first half. But Odukale missed the free throw that would have given the Panthers a two-point lead, as Pitt went 16 of 22 from the line.

Hubb scored the go-ahead points, and Pitt’s Burton missed an off-balance runner as time expired.

“For us to escape here with a league win against a really good defensive team … we had a hard time dealing with them,” Brey said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for our guys because it looked dim a couple times and we figured out how to come back and finish.”