On Tuesday night, Pitt (12-7, 3-5 ACC) prevailed once again on the road, taking down Georgia Tech in Atlanta just days after beating No. 7 Duke in Durham.
The first half was a sloppy affair for the Panthers, as they turned it over eight times. However, Pitt shot the ball effectively, hitting 44% of its field goals and 44% of its three-point attempts. Blake Hinson continued his shooting excellence with a logo three pointer, extending his consecutive threes streak to eight in a row. Pitt guard Bub Carrington had an outstanding half, scoring 11 first-half points on 3-for-4 shooting and grabbing four rebounds to lead the Panthers into the half with a four-point lead.
In the second frame, the Yellow Jackets came out buzzing, scoring the first seven points of the half to take the lead. Forward Baye Ndongo took control of the paint early on, scoring eight points in the first five minutes of the frame and leading Georgia Tech. Five minutes in, the Yellow Jackets had started the half 5 for 6 from the field and had made their lone three-point try to build a lead of their own up to five points.
Minutes later, Pitt quieted the Yellow Jackets’ momentum with a three pointer from Guillermo Diaz-Graham and an acrobatic and-one finish by Jaland Lowe on the ensuing possession, cutting Georgia Tech’s lead down and tying the game. On the next offensive possession, Diaz-Graham once again stepped into a three, this time from the top of the key, and drained it. Pitt led by three with 11 minutes to play. After another Diaz-Graham slam dunk shortly after, the Panthers had extended their run to an impressive 13-2 slide over more than four minutes in a key point in the game.
Down the stretch, Pitt built its lead up to nine points at the three-minute mark, as Lowe once again hit a dagger of a three pointer shortly after Carrington delivered another two-point field goal. Georgia Tech’s Kowacie Reeves Jr. responded with a deep three of his own, cutting the deficit down to six with just over two-and-a-half minutes to go. Out of a timeout, Ishmael Leggett hit a three pointer of his own, staring the Georgia Tech defender in the face and draining it after pausing for a moment with the ball.
Pitt closed out the game with free throws from Carrington and Leggett in the final minutes, winning 72-64 over the Yellow Jackets to earn their second-straight away win.
For Pitt, Carrington led the way with 19 points, six rebounds, and three assists in the win. Lowe added 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting, and Diaz-Graham also reached double digits with a final stat line of 12 points. Leggett stepped up off the bench as well, going for 14 points and four rebounds.
The Panthers held Georgia Tech’s leading scorer on the season Miles Kelly to a zero-point night for the first time this season. He went 0 for 2 from the field in the loss. Ndongo was the star for Damon Stoudamire’s team, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Kyle Sturdivant followed with 14 points. As a team, Georgia Tech shot 39% from the field and 32% from three.
With the win, the Panthers advance to 12-7 on the year and 3-5 in ACC play.
Pitt will continue its road trip by heading to Miami to take on the Hurricanes on Saturday, Jan. 27. That game will tip off at 2:15 p.m. on The CW.
I’m very proud of this team. Finding their legs and playing together.
They still have issues. They look very disorganized on offense, and if Georgia Tech made any other threes, whenever wide open in the corner on every possession in the first half, they would’ve been another story they just played a team who wasn’t very good. Let’s see what they do against Wake Forest. .. I am on them at this point
Next game is at Miami FOOL!!
They’re gonna lose four of the next five games Is the name calling necessary my man
They should beat Notre Dame. Miami on the road will be tough . Wake Forest has fallen off. That is very winnable at home. NC St and Virginia on the road will be tough, but neither of those teams are anything special anymore. Best case is 3-2 and I would say 2-3 in that stretch. The hardest part of their schedule is over.
This team should only continue to get better. If Hinson allows the offense to come his way rather than force the issue we should continue to find our groove. Keep stacking those wins. H2P.