PITTSBURGH — Pitt bounced back from a road loss against Virginia Tech to defeat Georgia Tech 76-68 at the Petersen Events Center. The win clinched Pitt’s (20-8, 13-4 ACC) first 20-win season since 2015-16, the last time the Panthers clinched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Nelly Cummings finished with a team-best 22 points including 7-of-7 at the line. The Panthers stared at the charity stripe, totaling 19-of-20 from the line. Federiko Federiko scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds. The 58% foul shooter made all eight free throws he attempted. Cummings and Federiko along with head coach Jeff Capel spoke after the game to detail the victory.
Georgia Tech snapped a two-game winning streak and dropped to 3-14 in conference play Pitt outscored the Yellow Jackets 43-36 in the second half and out-rebounded the team 34-24 overall. Head coach Josh Pastner spoke regarding his team’s performance and mentioned the Panthers “starting five is older than the Oklahoma City Thunder starting five.”