Its looks like the Pitt Panthers might be hitting their stride just at the right time. 0-8 all time versus North Carolina since 1941, the Panthers chose an excellent time to break the streak.
Led by a dominating, career day by Talib Zanna, Pittsburgh held on to beat No. 15 North Carolina 80-75 in the ACC tournament quarterfinals Friday afternoon. Zanna had 19 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Panthers to victory.
Zanna, the 6’9 senior forward, fell just shy of tying the single game ACC tournament rebounding record of 23. On top of that, Zanna crashed the offensive boards, ripping down 10 key rebounds, the Tar Heels had 11 total as a team.
James Robinson scored a career best 19 points for the Pitt ((25-8) and the Panthers were able to hold off a furious rally, losing a 19 point lead late in the second half by UNC (23-9) The Panthers were cruising to victory until Marcus Paige led a furious comeback. Paige scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half before fouling out with 25.4 seconds remaining.
The Tar Heels closed the gap to 78-75 on Nate Britt’s jumper with 11.4 seconds left but couldn’t complete the comeback. James Robinson drained two free throws to make it a two possession game immediately after Britt’s score.
On the Tar Heels next possession, James Michael McAdoo missed a three-pointer with 4.3 seconds in regulation that was rebounded by Lamar Patterson to seal the victory.
Up next for the Panthers, who are coming off two straight games where they scored at least 80 points is No. 6 ranked and top seeded Virginia Cavaliers in Saturday’s semifinals. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
