No. 18 Pitt rallies from halftime deficit to beat Virginia Tech in ACC opener

Stephen Thompson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 7, 2024

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BLACKSBURG, Va. — League play is off to an early start in the ACC, and Pitt opened its conference season with a dramatic come-from-behind victory in a venue it hadn’t won in since joining the ACC.

No. 18 Pitt extended Virginia Tech’s losing streak to six games as Jaland Lowe scored with 50 seconds left to give his team its first lead since the 5:31 mark of the first half. The Panthers emerged with a 64-59 victory at Cassel Coliseum.

Trailing by eight at halftime, Pitt (8-3, 1-0 ACC) clawed its way back with defense. The Hokies (3-6, 0-1) connected on 47.6% of their field-goal attempts through the first 20 minutes but missed five of seven shots to open the second half. Consecutive steals from Zack Austin and Lowe led to breakaway buckets and cut the deficit to 50-49 with 7:21 to play.

Virginia Tech pushed its lead back to seven points behind an old-fashioned 3-point play from Tyler Johnson and a traditional triple from Jaden Schutt. But Pitt scored 15 of the game’s final 18 points. They shot and made eight free throws in the final four minutes to hang on for the victory.

The comeback was needed because of the Panthers’ sloppy start. They committed five turnovers before the first media timeout and were down 12-7 less than four minutes into the game. But a 9-0 run put them in front for the first time with 11 minutes left in the first half. The run coincided with some improved team defense, brought on by a level of physicality that Pitt was missing in its blowout loss Wednesday to Mississippi State.

The Hokies, who entered the game shooting just 22.3% from 3-point range, eventually caught fire. After making just two of their first seven 3-pointers, they connected on four of eight triples to close out the first half and went on an 13-2 run that extended their lead to 36-28 at halftime.

Pitt’s ninth turnover of the first half led to a breakaway dunk from Schutt, which gave the Hokies their largest lead of the game, but Pitt erased it by outscoring the Hokies 36-23 over the final 20 minutes.

Key stat

Pitt missed 22 3-pointers against the Hokies, by far their most of the season. Attempts from beyond the arc made up 50% of its shots, and its 21.4% conversion rate on 3-pointers marks its worst since a 5-for-26 showing in a loss to Syracuse last season.

Up next

The Panthers’ schedule lightens up after completing a stretch of five in a row against power conference opponents. They’ll return to Petersen Events Center to play just two games over the next 24 days before picking ACC play back up against Cal on New Year’s Day.

Pitt plays Wednesday at home against Eastern Kentucky. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.