On Saturday afternoon, No. 18 Pitt men’s basketball (8-2, ACC 1-0) traveled to Virginia Tech (3-6, ACC 0-1) in the team’s first conference matchup of the year. Pitt fled Blacksburg with a five-point win after spending a little over two minutes leading the game.
The Panthers led into this game off of a big loss and looking to make a winning statement. For Virginia Tech, the game served as an opportunity to pick up a ranked upset on its home floor.
The first half saw the two teams battle back and forth early, trading buckets. Halfway through the first period, the game was tied at sixteen until first-year guard Amsal Delalic came off of the bench to make a smooth move to the basket for a layup, putting Pitt up two.
More seesaw scoring from both ends filled the rest of the half. Senior guard Ishmael Leggett hit the bottom of the net on two from downtown, but Tech continued to answer, keeping the game even with four minutes to play before the half. The Hokie’s shot the lights out from three at .40% in the first half compared to a measly 25% from Pitt — at just 4-16 — three of which came from Leggett.
With under a minute to go, the Hokies stole the ball off of a turnover from second-year guard Jaland Lowe, stuffing in a buzzer-beating dunk to give Tech an eight-point lead going into the locker room.
Pitt opened the second-half scoring with a layup from senior forward Zach Austin, but yet again, VT made a shot of their own in a quick response. Immediate answers from both teams off of buckets plagued any chance of one side running away with the game.
A little over halfway through the half, junior forward Guillermo Diaz Graham finally hit a three to break an 0-4 draught from beyond the arc to put the game within one point before Tech dunked the ball in retaliation.
Austin and Lowe ran the floor and scored off turnovers on back-to-back to bring Pitt within one once again. After a third Hokie turnover in a row that granted Pitt the chance to take their first lead of the half, a missed three from Diaz Graham saw Tech take the ball to the other end for an and-one and four point lead.
As the Panthers tried to fight their way back into the front, Tech’s second-year guard Jaden Schutt went relentless behind the arc, going 4-9 in the game from three-point land and totaling 14 points — the Hokie’s second highest scorer of the day.
A deep three from Lowe cut a five-minute Pitt scoring drought before Tech free throws from junior forward Toibu Lawal brought VT back up four. Lawal, a big reason as to why Tech played so well, finished the contest with 16. Lowe again came in clutch with a layup and steal to give Pitt the ball down two.
With 1:34 Diaz Graham was sent to the line in the bonus with the opportunity to tie the game. The big man from the Canary Islands delivered before fouling Lawal on the other end, who went 1-2 from the charity stripe.
With seconds on the clock Lowe gave Pitt a one-point lead off of a blow-by layup to force a Tech timeout. The Hokies sent their big man to go at Diaz Graham with 30 seconds left — this time — blocking the try away to put the game in the hands of Pitt free throws.
Pitt’s 15-3 run at the end of the game put the Panthers over the top, with Lowe leading the way with 11 of his 19 total points during the stretch. This would give Pitt an eventual five-point win, its first win at VT since 2003.
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