Ishmael Leggett poured in 30 points off the bench and Pitt fended off hard-charging Wake Forest to win 81-69 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at Washington, D.C.
Blake Hinson provided 20 points and key late-game offense as the Panthers opened the tournament with a solid outing in a game that figured to have large NCAA Tournament implications for both teams. Nearly all of Pitt’s 19-point lead was wiped away before the Panthers scored on six consecutive
possessions down the stretch.
Fourth-seeded Pitt (22-10) will face top-seeded North Carolina (26-6), an earlier 92-67 winner against Florida State, in Friday night’s first semifinal. It will be just the second time the Panthers play in the ACC semifinals.
Jaland Lowe hit two free throws with 56 seconds left to restore a double-digit lead for the Panthers. He finished with 11 points.
Cameron Hildreth racked up 23 points and Hunter Sallis had 15 points for fifth-seeded Wake Forest (20-13), which defeated Notre Dame a day earlier. Andrew Carr (12 points) and Efton Reid III (11 points) also helped the Demon Deacons, who committed 15 turnovers.
The teams split two regular-season games, each winning at home. Wake Forest’s posted a 91-58 blowout Feb. 20. Since then, the Demon Deacons went 3-4.
Leggett’s previous high point total came with 22 points in a Jan. 31 victory against Wake Forest. He’s the ACC Sixth Man of the Year.
Sallis, an All-ACC first team selection, was slow in getting cranked up and was well-defended. He was 5-for-9 from the floor.
Pitt had to find answers in the final minutes after the margin dipped to three points. Hinson scored off an offensive rebound for a 69-64 edge. It was 71-67 before Wake Forest faded.
Pitt’s 19-point lead with less than 13 minutes to play nearly vanished amid a burst of Wake Forest offense.
After trailing 55-36, the Demon Deacons racked up 23 points on their next nine possessions to close within 63-59 with more than five minutes remaining. Sallis drained two 3-pointers and Hildreth had another during the comeback.
Pitt led 38-26 at halftime. The frustration for Wake Forest was evident, including a technical foul on coach Steve Forbes less than 11 minutes into the game.
–Field Level Media