On Saturday afternoon, Pitt and Virginia Tech faced off in a matchup between two teams coming off of a loss.
The Hokies, coming off five-straight “L’s,” were desperate for a win. Pitt, an 8.5-point favorite going into the game, was looking to respond from Wednesday night’s 33-point loss to Mississippi State. Early on in this one, the Hokies dominated.
In the first half, Pitt struggled to get much going offensively, while Virginia Tech shot 52% from the field en route to an eight-point halftime lead.
Trailing by five with less than 14 minutes to play, Leggett drove into the jaws of the Virginia Tech defense, and survived contact inside to make a layup over a taller defender. That bucket, followed by an offensive foul by Virginia Tech, seemed to ignite the Panthers. On the ensuing offensive possession, Pitt grabbed two offensive rebounds, but could not buy a bucket. At that point, after two more missed threes, Pitt was just 4 for 22 from three-point range.
However, Pitt’s Guillermo Diaz Graham then knocked down the team’s first three of the half, cutting the deficit down to just one point. After the Hokies answered, Pitt countered minutes later, with two steals and fastbreak scores from Jaland Lowe and Zack Austin. Once again, Pitt had the lead down to just one.
The Panthers could not string together enough scoring to take the lead. The Panthers then went more than four minutes without scoring, extending their poor three-point shooting numbers to just 5 for 27. Virginia Tech’s Jaden Schutt then knocked down his fourth three of the game to extend the lead up to seven with less than five minutes to go.
Leggett snapped Pitt’s scoreless streak with two free throws. After earning a stop on defense, Lowe finally drained his first three of the half, a deep basket from the logo at the top of the key.
Virginia Tech’s Tobi Lawal made two free throws on the other end, keeping this one a two-possession game. Lowe answered quickly with a layup in traffic, and on defense, dove in for a steal, forcing Virginia Tech’s 17th turnover of the game. Pitt then tied the game at 58 with a pair of free throws from Diaz Graham with just 1:34 to play.
After one free throw from Lawal, Lowe continued his late hot streak, making yet another massive shot. Lowe drove to his strong left side, and tossed up a left-handed layup over two taller defenders. He drained the shot, giving Pitt a 60-59 lead over the Hokies. When Virginia Tech’s Ben Burnham tried to regain the lead with a shot inside, Diaz Graham rejected his attempt. After two free throws from Lowe, the Panthers forced a miss from Jaydon Young, grabbed the rebound, and clinched the win with more late free throws.
Pitt finished the game on a 15-3 run.
With the win, Pitt improved to 8-2 on the season. The Panthers will now return home to face Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
