Shorthanded Pitt Overcomes 16-Point Deficit to Beat Cal, 86-74

PITTSBURGH — While getting back on defense late in the game, Jaland Lowe raised his right hand up, motioning for the Pitt Panther crowd to get on its feet.

There were less than four minutes remaining in what had been a wild game, and the Panthers had battled all the way back from down 16 points in the first half to build up a lead of their own. On the prior possession, Lowe found his teammate Zack Austin for his second three pointer of the day, which extended Pitt’s lead up to 12 points, 79-67.

The Panthers took home the victory, improving to 11-2 on the year.

Cal jumped out to an early lead, with Air Force transfer Rytis Petraitis leading the way in the first few minutes. Pitt answered with early scoring from Guillermo Diaz Graham and Cam Corhen inside and out.

Then, after Diaz Graham earned his second foul of the game early, head coach Jeff Capel looked to some new lineups with his starting four man on the bench and two guards (Damian Dunn and Ishmael Leggett) out with injuries.

Two-straight buckets off the hands of rookie Brandin ‘Beebah’ Cummings — who started the game for the first time of his career — cut the Golden Bears’ lead down to five. Minutes later, two free throws from Cal star Andrej Stojakovic, followed by another Pitt turnover and a Stojakovic layup all added up to a 13-point lead for the Golden Bears, 36-23, with 5 minutes to play in the first half.

DJ Campbell then hit a three, extending Cal’s run up to 11-0 and the lead up to 16.

In the final five minutes of action, all of the game’s attention turned to the officiating crew. The Panthers’ defense tightened up, and offensively, Pitt was able to string together buckets from Corhen, Cummings, and Diaz Graham. After the Spaniard threw down a breakaway slam with 1:18 to play in the half, Pitt’s Austin tossed the ball at a Cal player, DJ Campbell, who took offense. The officiating crew called double technicals after the interaction between the two players. While the officials were reviewing the technicals, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel was then assessed a technical of his own for saying something to the crew.

The arena filled with “boo” chants for minutes, but after the down time, the Panthers capitalized on the energy in the stadium. With a three pointer from Austin and a free throw from Papa Amadou Kante, the Panthers took a 15-3 run into the break and trailed by just four points, 42-38.

In the second half, Corhen opened the scoring with a mid-range basket off a dish from Cummings, and the deficit was down to two. Pitt tied the game at 42 with a deep two-point jumper from Lowe on the next possession. With just under 18 minutes to play, Pitt took the lead on a three off the hands of Cummings.

Ishmael Leggett missed Pitt’s game against Cal due to a lower-body injury.

Pitt maintained control of the game from that point on. The Panthers once again held Cal without a field goal for more than four minutes, going on an 8-0 run and building an eight-point lead with more than 12 minutes to play.

However, Pitt then went seven minutes without a basket of its own — but still maintained its lead. The streak snapped when Jorge Diaz Graham stepped into a three pointer to extend Pitt’s lead up to nine points, 69-60, with just under eight minutes to play.

Lowe continued to lead the Panthers towards a victory, making a difficult two-point jumper fading to his right in the final few minutes to increase Pitt’s lead back up to nine. Minutes later, he blew by his defender and finished an and-one layup, bringing his point total up to 24. He wasn’t done yet, though. The next time down the floor, Lowe drained his first three pointer of the game. The Panthers closed out the win in the final minutes.

Lowe, Corhen, and Cummings led the way, scoring wise, for Pitt, adding 27, 19, and 15 points, respectively. Corhen grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds in the win to finish with a double double.

With the win, Pitt advanced to 11-2 on the season and 2-0 in ACC play. Pitt’s next game will come on Saturday, Jan. 4 against Stanford at the Petersen Events Center. That game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.