Pitt
12-7,3-5ACC
Georgia Tech
9-10,2-6ACC
Panthers Cap Road Trip with 72-64 Win at Georgia Tech
1/23/2024 10:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ATLANTA – Freshman guards Carlton Carrington (19 points) and Jaland Lowe (12 points) combined for 31 points and Ishmael Leggett added 14 points to lead Pitt to a 72-64 win at Georgia Tech Tuesday evening.
Guillermo Diaz Graham scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half to help Pitt overcome a six-point second half deficit. The Panthers shot 48 percent (24-of-50) from the field for the game and came up big in the closing minutes, going 5-of-7 from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line in the final 6:30 minutes of action.
Pitt opened up a five-point lead in the opening half on a Blake Hinson 40-footer and Lowe hit a corner three on next possession to give Panthers 22-16 edge with 7:42 left in the half.
Carrington scored seven of the Panthers final nine points of the half to lead Pitt into the break with a 31-27 advantage. The Baltimore, Md., native finished the half with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field and a 3-of-4 effort from the foul line.
Hinson added nine points and four rebounds to help offset an uneven first half that featured eight Panther turnovers. Pitt held the Yellow Jackets to 32 percent (10-of-31) shooting from the field, including a 4-of-16 (.250) mark from three-point range.
Georgia Tech came out of the break with a 7-0 run to grab a 34-31 lead at the 18:39 mark as Pitt was whistled for two fouls and had two turnovers in the first four possessions of the second half.
Pitt erased a six-point deficit with a Guillermo Diaz Graham three and a Lowe three-point play to tie the game at 43-43 with 11:59 remaining. Guillermo Diaz Graham added his second three of the half at the 11:13 mark to give the Panthers a three-point edge and force a Georgia Tech timeout.
A Deebo Coleman three cut Pitt's lead to two with 8:04 remaining but the Panthers answered with an 11-2 run to go ahead 59-50 on a pair of Leggett free throws. Pitt's guard trio of Carrington, Leggett, and Lowe closed out the game with stellar play in the final four minutes of action.
Carrington hit a 17-foot pull up from the top of the key, Lowe buried a corner three against the Yellow Jackets zone, and Leggett answered a Kowacie Reeves three to give the Panthers a 67-58 margin with 2:11 remaining.
Pitt went 5-of-6 from the foul line and held Tech without a field goal over the final two minutes to secure the victory and improve to 12-7 overall and 3-5 in the ACC.
The Panthers got 26 points off the bench and won the rebounding battle (33-31) in a matchup of two of the top rebounding teams in the ACC.
LOW TURNOVERS DOWN THE STRETCH
Pitt committed just one turnover in the final 18:47 of the game after being plagued by miscues in the opening 21 minutes of action. The Panthers finished the game with 11 turnovers on the night.
SECOND HALF ISH
Leggett scored all 14 of his points in the second half of play, with 12 points in the final 10:22 of action. He scored in double figures for the 13th time this season.
LOCKING UP KELLY
Pitt held Tech leading scorer Miles Kelly to zero points on 0-of-2 shooting from the field, including 0-of-1 from three-point range. He entered the contest averaging 15.1 points per game.
AUSTIN MAKING IMPACT ALL OVER THE FLOOR
Zack Austin continued his strong play despite a quiet night on the stat sheet. He scored four points on two early dunks, but went on to add three rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Austin made a key hustle play in the second half jumping out of bounds and saving a ball to Leggett, who knocked down a jumper late in the shot clock to give Pitt a 48-45 lead with 10:22 to go.
UP NEXT
Pitt concludes a three-game road swing Saturday, Jan. 27 at Miami (2:15 p.m. – The CW).
