WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Pitt men’s basketball lost in the Greenbrier Tip-Off championship with a 81-75 defeat to No. 19 Wisconsin on Sunday evening at Colonial Hall of the Greenbrier Resort.

The Panthers (6-1) stormed out to an early lead off a 14-2 run in the first five minutes of the game. Junior forward Cam Corhen was an efficient scorer inside, hitting seven of eight shots for 16 points to lead the Panthers, with 11 of his points coming in the first half.

Pitt held a 34-27 lead going into halftime, but foul trouble plagued the Panthers as senior guard Ishmael Leggett had four fouls early in the second half, while Corhen, senior forward Zack Austin and junior forward Guillermo Diaz Graham each had three fouls early in the game. The Panthers also lost senior guard Damian Dunn to dual ankle and hand injuries early in the first half, which further limited the Panthers’ defensive rotation.

Wisconsin’s senior star guard John Tonje was limited in the first half when Pitt’s players weren’t in foul trouble as he only had eight points and shot two of eight from the floor. But in the second half, he took advantage of Pitt’s bench being on the floor to score 25 points in the second half and finish with 33 points for the Badgers (7-0).

The setting of the basketball court set inside a ballroom faced several challenges by the event staff. After the preceding contest where LSU beat UCF, 109-104, in triple overtime, one of the shot clocks didn’t work, and further delayed the Panthers’ and Badgers’ contest. What was initially supposed to be a 5:30 p.m. start didn’t begin until 6:45 p.m.

When the staff couldn’t fix power issue with one shot clock, the officials decided to turn the other off to preserve fairness. During that time, the game announcer would call out the shot clock’s time at 15 and 10 seconds, and do a countdown of the final five seconds on each possession.

The shot clock’s power was returned during halftime. But further issues plagued the event staff as overhead lights continued to flicker on and off in the middle of the court, causing multiple stoppages of play.

Both sides persevered through the several oddities of the setting, and Wisconsin thrived off Tonje’s second-half surge.

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