John Hugley had 21 points and 10 rebounds and made two clutch free throws to help host Pittsburgh hold off North Carolina State 71-69 and send the Wolfpack to a sixth consecutive loss Saturday.

Ithiel Horton and Jamarius Burton each added 17 points for the Panthers (10-16, 5-10 ACC).

Dereon Seabron scored 17 points and Thomas Allen added 14 for the last-place Wolfpack (10-16, 3-12). Jericole Hellems had 10 points for NC State.

Pitt coach Jeff Capel twice fouled on purpose while ahead by three in the final six seconds to prevent a potential game-tying 3-pointer. After Seabron made both foul shots with six seconds left, Hugley was fouled with 4.9 seconds left and made both free throws for a 71-68 lead.

Seabron was fouled again with 1.1 seconds to go. He made the first and missed the second shot on purpose, off the front rim, but Burton secured the rebound.

The lead see-sawed after Seabron's three-point play put the Wolfpack ahead 58-57 with 3:48 left, but Hugley's two free throws gave Pitt a 61-60 lead with 2:53 left. Horton's driving layup with 1:12 remaining increased the margin to three, and Hellems then missed a shot in the lane. A Pitt fast break led to a foul, and Horton sank both free throws for a 65-60 lead with 57 seconds to go.

A pair of 3-pointers by Hellems and Allen, sandwiched around a layup by Horton after Pitt broke the Wolfpack's full-court press, cut NC State's deficit to 67-66 with 10 seconds left.

Pitt's lackluster offense suddenly got hot to begin the second half as the hosts erased a 31-26 halftime deficit. The Panthers made seven of their first 12 shots to open a 45-35 lead. The most spectacular sequence occurred when Hugley blocked Seabron's layup attempt. Femi Odukale collected the rebound and passed it to Hugley, who found Burton open downcourt for a crowd-pleasing dunk and a 42-35 lead.

On Pitt's next possession, Mouhamadou Gueye hit a trey from the right wing to put the Panthers ahead, 45-35 with 12:24 left in the game.

But an 8-0 run, capped by Terquavion Smith's 3, cut NC State's deficit to 45-43 with 11:03 to go. NC State soon went ahead, 48-47, on a dunk by Seabron off a pass from Allen.

But Pitt responded with six straight points to take the lead, 53-48 on Hugley's dunk with 7:27 left.

--Field Level Media