Miami's physical defense made Pittsburgh feel like it was visiting the dentist's office, Panthers coach Kevin Stallings said.

It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Anthony Lawrence II paced a balanced Miami attack with 12 points, and the 15th-ranked Hurricanes wore down Pittsburgh with their defense in a 67-53 win Saturday in the ACC opener for both teams at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

The Hurricanes held the Panthers without a field goal for an eight-minute stretch that began late in the first half and didn't end until early in the second half, when Miami was already comfortably ahead. Pittsburgh never recovered.

"Too many possessions felt like a trip to the dentist," Stallings told reporters after the loss. "They wear you down with their physicality and their athleticism. Plus, they play hard."

Ja'Quan Newton and Bruce Brown Jr. finished with 11 points each for the Hurricanes (12-1, 1-0 ACC), who are third in the nation in scoring defense, surrendering 59.0 points per game.

Shamiel Stevenson came off the bench to score a game-high 16 points, and Justin Wilson-Frame finished with 13 points for the Panthers (8-6, 0-1).

Pittsburgh got off to a 1-4 start to the season, including ugly losses to Navy and Montana. But the Panthers responded by winning seven of their next eight games, heading into conference play. They got off to a tough start offensively against the defensive-minded Hurricanes, though.

"Every day we push ourselves in practice," Lawrence said in a TV interview after the game. "Coach is always on us, 'defense, defense.'"

Lawrence had an early 3-pointer, and Newton hit a layup to help Miami build a 17-13 lead midway through the first half.

Pittsburgh rallied back and went in front 18-17 on a 3-pointer by Stevenson, but the Panthers went cold from that point.

Miami closed the first half with a 13-1 run and led 30-19 at intermission. Lawrence had 10 points to lead all scorers in the first half.

Miami began to separate itself early in the second half. Ebuka Izundu threw down a one-handed dunk on a breakaway that put the Hurricanes up 38-22 and forced Pittsburgh to call timeout.

Stewart hit a couple of late 3-pointers to cut into the deficit, but it was too little, too late for the Panthers, who lost to Miami for the fourth straight time.

"We feel like we've challenged ourselves," said Miami coach Jim Larranaga, whose team has gone 4-1 during a six-game road swing that ends Wednesday at Georgia Tech.

Miami's Dewan Huell scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds. The sophomore forward had three dunks in the second half, as Miami pulled away from the Panthers.

Pittsburgh committed 19 turnovers and was outrebounded 31-23.

"When we needed to get by them we couldn't," Stallings said. "When we did get by them, they've got the length at the goal, which is a problem. Our kids played hard, fought hard, but they were just the better team tonight."

Miami blocked eight shots, three by Lawrence.

NOTES: Miami has traveled more than 15,000 miles during its current six-game road trip that featured a trip to Hawaii and concludes Wednesday at Georgia Tech. ... Pittsburgh F Ryan Luther missed his fourth straight game with a stress fracture in his right foot. ... Miami has beaten Pittsburgh four out of five times since the Panthers joined the ACC. ... Pittsburgh shot 30.8 percent from the floor and committed 10 turnovers in the first half. ... Pittsburgh travels to Louisville on Tuesday.