Louisville coach Rick Pitino has been a head coach in the NCAA and NBA for the past 30 years. There have been many thrilling victories and some agonizing setbacks.

The defeat Pitino experienced at the hands of Pitt yesterday afternoon at Petersen Events Center is second only to one when it comes to gut-wrenching losses.

And every college basketball fan knows which one is at the top of the heartbreak list.

"Outside of Duke and Christian Laettner, this was the worst loss I ever had to experience," Pitino said after Pitt's 82-77 overtime victory.

Christian Laettner made one of the most famous buzzer-beaters in NCAA tournament history to deny Pitino's Kentucky Wildcats a berth in the Final Four in 1992.

Much less was at stake yesterday, but Pitt's comeback victory was tough for the Cardinals to swallow. They were up by five points with 54 seconds remaining and committed a series of gaffes that opened the door for the Panthers, who gleefully barged through to claim a most unlikely victory.

"I knew the basketball game wasn't over," senior guard Jermaine Dixon said. "A couple of 3s, a couple of buckets, and you're right there. With the shooters we have, with Ashton [Gibbs] and Brad [Wanamaker], I knew we could get some buckets and stops. We never thought the game was over at any point."

The Panthers got some clutch shots, but they never did get a stop. It turns out they didn't need one because the Cardinals choked the game away at the free-throw line. They missed four of five from the line in the final 40 seconds.

Given the circumstances with a little less than a minute remaining in regulation, the victory yesterday was one of the most memorable of the Jamie Dixon era. The Panthers flawlessly executed their offense in that final minute, converted a clutch 3-pointer and made two free throws with the game on the line to send it to overtime.

"So many different guys made plays," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "That stands out. It was good for our guys. We had some new guys who did things that they haven't had to do before."

But as Pitino pointed out afterward, Pitt's comeback could not have happened without a series of critical errors by his team late in the contest:

• Jared Swopshire missed the front end of a one-and-one with 40 seconds on the clock.

• Edgar Sosa missed two free throws with 25 seconds left.

• Then Sosa missed another with 11 seconds left.

Sosa's two misses with 25 seconds left turned out to be the turning point. Out of a timeout, Wanamaker, who was left wide open, made a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 68-67 with 16 seconds remaining.

"We knew they would go with a matchup zone so coach called a play where me and Ash crossed," Wanamaker said. "Ash, being the shooter, they went with him. That left me open. Jermaine saw me and I knocked it down. Once it left my hand I knew it was good."

On the ensuing inbounds play, Louisville center Samardo Samuels found Sosa wide open out of a press break, and Sosa drove toward the basket. Out of nowhere came Gilbert Brown to foul Sosa before he scored.

Pitino believed Brown should have been called for an intentional foul, but replays showed Brown made a clean play for the ball.

Sosa, a 68 percent free-throw shooter, made the first, but missed the second. After Gibbs had his shot blocked with three seconds remaining, Pitt had one final opportunity.

Wanamaker drove into the lane and was inexplicably fouled by Louisville guard Jerry Smith. Wanamaker appeared out of control at the moment he was fouled, and it did not look like he was going to get off a quality shot.

Instead, Wanamaker stepped to the line and coolly made both free throws to tie the score with 1.9 seconds left.

"We never should foul in that situation," Pitino said. "If they make the shot they make the shot. But you don't want to just give them two points."

Pitt grabbed the lead in overtime for good when Gibbs made a 3-pointer with 4:04 remaining. Gibbs then had to make two clutch free throws with 16 seconds remaining after Louisville cut the lead to one with 24 seconds left.

Gibbs was 3 for 4 from 3-point range and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line and finished with 15 points. Wanamaker had 20 points and was 11 for 12 from the line.

Gibbs and Wanamaker provided the late heroics, but Nasir Robinson played the game of his life to put Pitt in a position to win. Robinson scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds after only scoring 27 points in his previous six games.

With the victory, Pitt (15-2, 5-0) remains atop the Big East Conference standings with Villanova. The Panthers, who play host to Georgetown Wednesday night, have won eight consecutive games and 31 in a row at the Petersen Events Center.

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