Hinson's 41-point eruption sends Pitt past Louisville in 86-59 rout

Updated Feb. 18, 2024 12:01 a.m. ET

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Blake Hinson scored 27 of his career-high 41 points in the first half and Pittsburgh beat Louisville 86-59 on Saturday.

Hinson's 27-point mark before the break equaled the Cardinals' total team output before halftime. Pitt led 37-27 midway as Hinson shot 9 for 14 including 5 for 8 from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 9-for-21 shooting at halftime.

Hinson entered with a career high of 29 points. He finished 14-for-24 shooting and matched his career best with nine 3-pointers.

Hinson started the game 12-points shy of 1,000 points in his Pitt career. He's the first Panther to score more than 30 points in 27 years. His Saturday total was four points short of the school record 45 set by Don Hennon in the 1957-58 season.

The 41-point effort Saturday put him into a sixth-place tie this season for single-highest-scoring game effort with Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M), Sherif Gross-Bullock (Bryant) and Jahmir Brickus (LaSalle). Denver's Tommy Bruner put up 49 points on Jan. 25 against South Dakota for the nation's best single-game effort this year.

Down 18-17 with 8:26 before halftime, Hinson went on a 7-0 run to send Pitt (17-8, 8-6 ACC) into the lead for the remainder. Jaland Lowe and reserve Ishmael Leggett each scored 10.

Kaleb Glenn scored 17 points, Tre White 16, Mike James 13 and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 12 for Louisville (8-18, 3-12 ACC).

Louisville hosts Notre Dame on Wednesday.

Pitt travels to Wake Forest on Tuesday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here ___ AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball