Pitt missed out on an opportunity for an ever-important Quad 1 win on the road Saturday, falling 76-74 to Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Demon Deacons (16-6, 8-3 ACC) advanced to 5-1 at home on the season, holding off the Panthers (14-7, 5-5), who tied the game with a 7-2 run with 2:22 left in the game.
Pitt kept the game close throughout by winning the battles in turnovers 11-8, rebounds 28-27, offensive rebounds 8-3 and second-chance points 14-5. It was the first time this season the Panthers won the rebounding battle but lost the game, as they’re now 12-1 when out-rebounding their opponent.
“It was a big basketball game” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “Obviously, we both want to be in the postseason. It was two teams fighting and competing. We withstood some runs and we had some opportunities. Some wide-open opportunities we can’t miss and a costly turnover late in the game that we can’t have in that situation. But credit them, they made plays.”
Senior forward Damian Dunn led the Panthers with 24 points and four assists, making 8 of 13 shots from the floor. But Wake Forest had two guards take over the game in key moments. Senior guard Cameron Hildreth led the Demon Deacons with 24 points including making all three of his 3-point attempts, and senior guard Hunter Sallis scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, shooting 6 of 11 from the floor.
“It’s basketball,” Dunn said of Hildreth’s big game. “At the end of the day, it’s our job to do our best to guard and prevent that from happening. But it happened. We have to learn from it and move on.”
Wake Forest shot well above its season marks, as it made 52% from the floor while coming into Saturday shooting 44.1%, and made 8 of 19 3-pointers for a rate of 42% when they had the ACC’s lowest rate at 28.7% coming into the game. Pitt got into foul trouble with 11 fouls in the first half where redshirt senior forward Zack Austin, Dunn, and both junior forwards Guillermo Diaz Graham and Cam Corhen each had two fouls in the first half.
That forced Capel to switch up his defense into a zone for most of the game, which did slow Wake Forest’s ability to drive to the basket — but didn’t stop their deep shots from hitting.
“We had a lot of foul trouble,” Capel said of Pitt’s switch to zone defense. “[Wake Forest’s players] were putting their heads down and driving, and we were getting fouls called on our end. So we had some lineups we hadn’t really played or practiced with, so we thought the zone could kind of compact things. Wake shot the 3 better [Saturday] than all season.”
Senior guard Ishmael Leggett added 16 points and tied Dunn’s four assists, while sophomore guard Jaland Lowe scored 14 points with two assists and three turnovers. It was the first time since Pitt’s Jan. 15 loss at Florida State that Lowe finished a contest with more turnovers than assists.
Pitt won the turnover battle, but lost in points off turnovers 9-6, as the Panthers missed chances on shots at the rim and open 3-pointers in transition that could’ve gave them more of an edge down the stretch.
“We had missed shots right at the rim we didn’t make,” Capel said. “Whether it was layups, pull-ups — things like that, we have to make those. If we take a shot, we can’t give up a layup in transition ... we had some opportunities, we just didn’t capitalize.”
It was over when ...
As the game was tied, Sallis made a 3-pointer with 1:53 left in the game and it was followed by a turnover from Guillermo Diaz Graham that turned into a basket for Hildreth to give Wake Forest a five-point lead.
“We had Sallis on the baseline late in the game pinned in,” Capel said. “We can’t let him out. We have to stay aggressive and lock him in there. He turned and made a heck of a play with a turnaround jump shot. Give credit to them, they made big shots down the stretch.”
After that, Corhen hit a key shot for Pitt, but the Panthers couldn’t get inside the 3-point advantage by Wake Forest that came from Sallis’ made shot. Lowe missed two 3-pointers in the final minutes that could’ve changed the pace of the game and Pitt only made two shots from the floor in the final 4:30 of the game.
Player of the game
Dunn was Pitt’s best player from start to finish. He scored a season-high 24 points even as he tallied three fouls early in the second half. He only committed one turnover while adding two assists and played a big role in Pitt’s defensive effort with a steal and kept Wake Forest’s guards from driving several times.
His foul trouble did slow up his aggressiveness late in the game, as he eventually tallied his fourth foul and only shot the ball twice in the last nine minutes of play.
Trending up
Pitt’s been the best free throw shooting team in the ACC with a 78.7% rate on the season, and that continued as the Panthers made 20 of 20 free throws against Wake Forest. All were crucial to keeping the game close late.
Trending down
Austin was the best player for Pitt in its Tuesday win over North Carolina, but he struggled shooting from the floor against Wake Forest. He made just one of six shots — all 3-pointers —with several good looks throughout the game. It was the third time Austin had made less than 20% on 3-pointers in his last four contests.
The 6-foot-7 redshirt senior forward didn’t have a bad game overall, but Pitt needs his shooting to come through if it’s going to beat good teams on the road like Wake Forest.
Up next
Pitt gets one day’s rest before playing at Petersen Events Center for a 7 p.m. Monday tipoff against Virginia, which sat at 124th in the NET rankings as of Saturday afternoon. That would make Virginia a Quad 3 opportunity for Pitt if that holds going into Monday. After missing on a tournament resume-building Quad 1 win against Wake Forest, Monday’s game now holds even higher importance.
First Published: February 1, 2025, 7:41 p.m.
Updated: February 1, 2025, 9:43 p.m.
