PITTSBURGH — Jared Wilson-Frame charged down the floor with the ball to his right side. The Panthers were trailing by four points, needed a basket and needed it quickly.
Wilson-Frame looked off the lone Wake Forest defender and elevated to the rim for a dunk with no one near him
Somehow, it bounced out.
It painted almost too perfect of a picture of the way Pitt’s 2017-18 season went, which was made even worse by the Panthers’ 63-57 loss to Wake Forest on Wednesday.
The Demon Deacons represented Pitt’s last, best chance to secure a conference victory, but instead, Wilson-Frame’s dunk rattled out and any hope at an upset — and most likely any hope of avoiding a winless season ended with the final buzzer.
It was a close game throughout, with neither team being able to establish much of an offensive rhythm. The Panthers were dominated in the paint throughout, with center Doral Moore collecting 13 points, but it was the play of guard Bryant Crawford in the second half that separated the Demon Deacons. He finished with 14 points.
Pitt was led offensively by Wilson-Frame and Marcus Carr, who each had 11 points and Shamiel Stevenson, who had 10.
The Panthers will host No. 1 Virginia on Saturday afternoon. That game has a 4 p.m. tipoff and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
