The Panthers capped regular season play Saturday night on a high note with a 93-67 win over Boston College at the Petersen Events Center. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak ahead of the ACC tournament, the program's last cry to salvage a disappointing season.

Pitt shot 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range while four players recorded double digits. Cameron Corhen and Brandin Cummings led the way with 16 points, Jaland Lowe recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists and Ishmael Leggett added 14 points.

This was the last game for three seniors: Leggett, Zack Austin and Vason Stevenson. Austin had five points, seven rebounds and one block as one of the five starters. And after not playing one minute all season, Stevenson got in for the final 2:04 of the game, making two free throws to the roar of the 7,884 on hand.

"I'm really happy for our seniors. I'm really happy for them to have an opportunity to go out on a high note at home," Jeff Capel said after the game. "I'm grateful for them. Our staff is grateful for them. It's been really cool to be a part of their journey. I'm really happy for our guys, that we were able to win and have a performance like this."

Cummings' presence on the court helped open things up for the Panthers, mostly in a way this team hasn't seen for quite some time. It was only the third start of the season for the freshman guard, but he logged the third-most minutes (32:36) and was a consistent scorer alongside Leggett and Lowe.

"It was very solid," Cummings said. "It kind of tapped into the energy we had early on in the season. This is the perfect time to tap into it, and get ready to go into the ACC tournament. We've just gotta keep working, keep doing what we've been doing and try to carry this momentum into the next game."

Pitt can't necessarily afford to do exactly what they've been doing, especially for the past two months. Saturday night's win caps an incredibly disappointing season for the Panthers, finishing 17-14 overall and 8-12 in the ACC. What makes the season even more frustrating for the program is considering how it began.

The Panthers started the season winning 12 of their first 14 games. That included a 24-point victory in the Backyard Brawl against West Virginia and a thrilling 91-90 overtime win on the road over Ohio State. They also started ACC play with a 2-0 record, including a 15-point win over Stanford.

Then, the wheels completely fell off. A 76-47 shellacking at Duke was the start of a complete collapse. Not only did the Panthers close out the season going 4-12 after that 12-2 start, beginning with that humbling loss to the Blue Devils, all 12 losses came via three separate four-game losing streaks.

The tale of two seasons derailed any chance of earning a place in the NCAA tournament outside of an automatic bid.

"We haven't played good basketball, and that's on me," Capel said. "We haven't shot it well. We haven't defended well. We haven't rebounded well. ... Whether it was we don't get a rebound, we don't get a 50-50 ball, we miss an open shot, we miss a layup, a free throw, whatever it is. I think our confidence was a little bit rocked. We couldn't get out of it. That's why it was good today to get a win, to play well. And hopefully that can get us back to how we were earlier."

Rebounding has been a huge issue for the Panthers throughout the season. They entered Saturday night’s play ranking 13th in the ACC in total rebounds while allowing the seventh-most rebounds in the conference. Leggett not only led the team in rebounds Saturday night, but he did for the entire season. When the team's leader in rebounds plays in the backcourt, there's a serious problem in the paint.

The rebounding issues were a factor in some key losses, though certainly not the only reason. Five of the 12 losses down the stretch were by four points or less. They were out-rebounded in three of those games, including allowing 17 offensive rebounds in an 82-78 loss at home against Louisville on Jan. 11, right after the Duke game. Seven days after that, they lost in overtime at home to Clemson, another heartbreaker for a team that hit rock bottom.

"When we lost to Louisville here and Clemson here, I thought that really knocked us back as far as confidence," Capel said. "And then we weren't able to close some of these games. Those two, some of the games on the road. We just weren't able to finish."

Capel didn't want to use it as an excuse, but losing Damian Dunn to injury also held the Panthers back. The graduate guard played the first six games of the season, and the Panthers won each of them. He dislocated his right thumb and sprained his left ankle in the seventh game of the season, a six-point loss to Wisconsin. 

Dunn returned in the loss to Duke, then started four of the next eight games while the team tried to find their bearings. Dunn then sustained a dislocated elbow in a critical 67-66 loss at North Carolina on Feb. 8, which put an end to his season.

Dunn was a key transfer from Houston, and the offense was meant to run through him, Leggett and Lowe. The Panthers were also a better team when he was on the court. According to Capel, the team was +11.4 points in Power Five games when Dunn was on the court.

"Certainly, Damian's injury was huge for us. I knew it was big at the time. I don't think I really appreciated the magnitude of it," Capel said. "That was a big loss. I don't think we ever recovered from it. It sucks because when we were at North Carolina, I thought we were starting to look back to the team that we were before his injury because he was playing. He had mobility in his hand. We put the ball in his hands more. Then he got hurt again."

Despite the injuries, Capel knows this team was capable of much more.

"Again, this is on me," Capel said. "We have to do a better job. I have to do a better job of helping our guys have confidence in being able to finish some of these close games out."

With the regular season wrapped up, attention now turns to the ACC tournament, the last cry to salvage the season. That begins Tuesday as No. 13 seed Pitt takes on No. 12 seed Notre Dame.

That has Capel's sole focus. He's going to make sure his players get plenty of rest, knowing that one way they can stand a chance to make a run is to start as fresh as possible. And he's hoping that Saturday night's win can provide the boost his team needs, proving they can play the way initially intended, with or without Dunn.

"Hopefully seeing the basketball go through the basket gives us confidence," Capel said. "Look, we're going to be 0-0 like everyone else. We're going to be playing in a venue that no one's played in. We're excited that we still have an opportunity to play. We know we're going to have Notre Dame. So, we're excited about the opportunity that we have."