Panthers comeback bid falls short
It is becoming a running trend for the Pitt basketball team to fall behind by a large deficit and battle back before ultimately falling short of a comeback bid. On Saturday that exact same scenario played out again in Pitt's 67-57 loss to Virginia Tech.
The Hokies ran their lead up to 48-30 in the early moments of the second half. Pitt buckled down and made a run from there. Twice the Panthers had the Virginia Tech lead down to six points, including a 59-53 mark at the 3:21 mark on a Karim Coulibaly layup. The Panthers went cold from there as the Hokies ended the game on a strong note.
The Hokies snapped a five-game losing streak with the win. Virginia Tech now moves to 15-10 on the season and moves ahead of Pitt in the ACC standings with a 6-8 record in league play.
The Hokies entered the game as the third-best 3-point shooting team in the ACC, and it showed. Virginia Tech made 12 3-pointers including a big one by PJ Horne to extend the lead back out to 9 points after that Coulibaly bucket. Horne finished with a game-high 18 points fueled by four made 3-pointers.
Pitt found itself in a large hole thanks again to a slow first half. Pitt led Virginia Tech 13-10, but a 20-3 run by the Hokies gave them control and that ultimately doomed Pitt.
Xavier Johnson was apparently benched for the end of the first half and the start of the second half. He came back and finished with 11 second half points after Jeff Capel sent his message.
Justin Champagnie and Au'Diese Toney led Pitt with 12 points apiece. Coulibaly was in a position for big minutes with Eric Hamilton missing the game due to an ankle injury. He made the most of his opportunity with 10 points off the bench.
The loss drops Pitt's record to 15-11 on the season. The Panthers have now lost back-to-back games and are 6-9 in the conference. It won't get any easier in Pitt's next game as the Panthers stay on the road.
Pitt will travel to Tallahassee on Tuesday night to take on 8th ranked Florida State. The Seminoles own a 21-4 record, but will be looking for revenge on Tuesday when the Panthers come to town. Pitt knocked off Florida State by a score of 63-61 way back on November 6th to start the season.