Headline: Pitt turned a back-and-forth affair into a certified blowout with a dominating 16-minute finish to bounce back from the loss at Wake Forest and beat Virginia Tech 79-64.
The teams: Pitt (18-9 overall, 9-7 ACC), Virginia Tech (15-12 overall, 7-9 ACC)
MVP: Jaland Lowe. Blake Hinson had a team-high 22 points, but Lowe was right behind him with 18. And the freshman guard did a lot of damage in the second half, scoring 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting while grabbing four rebounds and handing out four assists.
The big run: For a long time, it looked like Saturday’s game would be a down-to-the-wire back-and-forth affair. A halftime tie was followed by four lead changes in the first four minutes of the second half. But then Pitt took over with a run that literally lasted for the final 16 minutes of the game, as the Panthers turned a 42-40 Virginia Tech lead into a big advantage with an 18-0 run and never looked back.
Scoring during the run: Pitt built its run with contributions from a lot of players. On the 18-0 run, four different players scored - and none of them was Blake Hinson. Bub Carrington and Guillermo Diaz Graham each had five points, while Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett scored four each.
Overall balance: Hinson, of course, led Pitt with 22 points, but he was one of three Panthers who scored in double digits and five Pitt players scored eight or more. That list also included Jaland Lowe, who had 18, Leggett, who scored 13, Zack Austin, who had nine and Diaz Graham, who scored eight. Carrington finished with seven.
A varied stat line: Zack Austin just might have been Pitt’s best player in the first half. At the very least, he was the most productive, scoring five points, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking three shots. He also played all 20 minutes, largely due to Carrington being in foul trouble, but even with playing just 10 minutes after halftime, Austin finished the game with nine points, a season-high 14 rebounds and a season-high five blocks.
Another drought: Pitt actually started the game with a ton of momentum. In the first two minutes, it looked like the Panthers couldn’t be stopped, shooting 3-of-3 from the field to take a 7-0 lead. But then Pitt missed eight shots in a row, allowing Virginia Tech to turn the 7-0 deficit into an 8-7 lead.
The biggest challenge: The leading scorer in the game was Virginia Tech guard Sean Pedulla, who put up 26 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor, 1-of-4 from the three and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Pedulla also grabbed eight rebounds and handed out seven assists. Unfortunately for the Hokies, Pedulla had nearly half of his team’s points, almost a third of its rebounds and more than half of its assists.
The battle inside: It wasn’t just Pedulla, though; the Hokies got 18 of their 36 first-half points in the paint and finished with 32 points from that area. But with the guards driving, Pitt was able to match Virginia Tech in the paint for the game.
Foul trouble: Things got interesting for both teams with calls in the first half, as three Virginia Tech starters, two Pitt starters and one reserve from each team went into halftime with two fouls. For the Panthers, that meant Carrington and Federiko Federiko played limited minutes - nine for Federiko; five for Carrington - in the first half. Carrington finished the game with four fouls but played 15 minutes in the second half despite the fouls and a brief break for a leg injury he suffered on a coast-to-coast drive.
One of the best offensive showings this season: Pitt’s 29 made field goals were the Panthers’ second-most in an ACC game this season, and the team’s 50.9% field goal rate was the best Pitt has shot against a conference opponent.
The crowd: Jeff Capel praised the crowd at the Petersen Events Center on Saturday night, and by the numbers, it was the biggest crowd of the season. The announced attendance was 12,094 - the first time Pitt has topped 12,000 in a home game this season.
Up next: Pitt will face another road challenge on Tuesday night when the Panthers go to Clemson (18-8 overall, 8-7 ACC) for a 7 pm tipoff.
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