Pitt Continues Winless Ways at Wake Forest, Falls 76-74

After stacking two ACC victories over Syracuse and North Carolina, Pitt went for three in a row as it entered a venue in which the Panthers have never won at in six previous attempts.

On Saturday, that horrors continued inside the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. as Pitt fell to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 76-74.

Final from Wake Forest. #H2P pic.twitter.com/0mGU1n0q5L

— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) February 1, 2025

It was a matchup in which the Panthers and Demon Deacons exchanged leads several times in the second half, but in the end, Pitt could not come up with the necessary stops and convert on the offensive end of the floor.

Damian Dunn fueled the Pitt (14-7, 5-5 ACC) offense with 24 points — the most in a Panther uniform — on 8-of-13 shooting, including three triples. Ishmael Leggett scored 16, while Jaland Lowe added 14 for a Panthers squad that shot 42.9 percent from the floor.

The Panthers were a perfect 20-for-20 from the free-throw line, but failed to keep up with the Wake Forest offense from the floor, including shooting 33.3 percent from three (6-of-18).

Cameron Hildreth fueled the Wake Forest (16-6, 8-3 ACC) offense with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a trio of threes. Ty-Laur Johnson poured in 16, while Hunter Sallis finished with 13 points. The Demon Deacons shot 52.2 percent (24-of-46) from the floor.

Wake Forest opened the scoring behind a Hildreth triple that was soon followed by one from Zack Austin that pulled the game even at 5-5.

It was not a pretty shooting performance from Pitt in the first eight minutes of the game as the Panthers forced several unnecessary looks early in their possessions. Pitt shot 27 percent at the under-12 media timeout.

The Demon Deacons then built off of their defensive tenacity as a pair of steals turned into quick points from Parker Friedrichsen and Sallis. A 6-0 run to gave Wake Forest a nine-point lead forcing a Jeff Capel timeout.

Pitt responded shortly thereafter as Dunn started to take over the game as he drove, scored and was fouled. He would finish the three-point play at the free-throw line. On the ensuing inbounds play, Pitt pressured and forced a turnover as Leggett found Dunn for another bucket in the paint.

Even as Pitt got into foul trouble with Dunn, Cam Corhen, Austin and Guillermo Diaz Graham each picking up their second personal foul, the Panthers continued to stick with the Demon Deacons, who connected on 9-of-11 attempts from the charity stripe in the first half.

While Wake found success drawing fouls and converting at the line, it went cold for nearly five minutes from the floor before Juke Harris knocked down his second triple of the half to lift Wake Forest to a 32-26 lead.

From there, however, Pitt buckled down for the remainder of the half as Dunn continued to score in bunches with a pair of excellent finishes in the paint around a post defender and then a key triple to put Pitt in front for the first time since the 16:22 mark of the first. Dunn scored 14 in the first half on 5-of-8 shooting.

Capel then made a shift to zone defense that created some uncomfortable possessions for the Demon Deacons in the final minutes of the first half as Pitt clung onto a 36-34 lead.

In the first half, Pitt shot 43.3 percent (13-of-30) from the floor, while picking up four offensive rebounds that led to seven second chance points. Wake Forest shot at a 55 percent (11-of-20 clip) with Harris and Hildreth both scoring seven points apiece.

Dunn lifted Pitt to its biggest lead of the game at 39-34 with a triple to commence the second half before Wake Forest turned it on for an 8-0 run behind a Johnson three and a tough drive by Sallis and finish.

Wake Forest finally collected its first offensive rebound nearly 27 minutes into the game after Efton Reid poked it out for Hildreth to bury a shot beyond to arc to make it 53-45 Wake.

However, Pitt responded swiftly with its own 7-0 run as Diaz Graham hit on an important three before flying down the lane and finishing a two-handed slam.

Hustle Plays (part two) ⚡@great8ish 🤝 @guilleediazz_ #H2P / 📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/ECGswmydAH

— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) February 1, 2025

Wake’s leading scorer in Sallis was held to just four points midway through the second half but sank a trio of shots to help out Hildreth who continued to pour it in for the Demon Deacons as he connected on a late mid-range shot to push Wake ahead 63-58.

Lowe, who had not shot the ball particularly well through a majority of the game, knocked down a big triple with 4:50 to go to bring the game within two points

However, Wake Forest responded as Sallis made two pivotal buckets for the Demon Deacons with one of them coming beyond the arc — his first triple of the game for the 31.2 percent three-point shooter.

With Wake Forest in the driver’s seat by three points, it came down to Pitt needing to an all-important bucket. Instead, Lowe hoisted a deep three early into the shot clock that was off the mark and scooped up by Wake Forest.

After Hildreth converted on a breakaway layup, Pitt could not pull the game within reach and would fall for the seventh time in Winston-Salem.

Pitt will have a short turnaround before taking on Virginia at the Petersen Events Center on Monday. Tip is set for 7 p.m.