BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech always seemed one step ahead of Pitt on Saturday, but the 18th ranked Panthers have a player capable of making up ground quickly. When Pitt found itself trailing by seven points with 5:19 remaining, there was still a clear path to victory: get the ball in the hands of Jaland Lowe.
“He's a really good player, and we trust him with the ball,” Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said of his star sophomore guard. “We trust him having the ball in his hands to make a play for himself or for someone else. We wanted to put him in ball screens and to have him make reads and just to make plays, and he made just about every play.”
In Pitt’s 64-59 comeback win over the Hokies, Lowe put up a finishing performance only select players in the country are capable of doing. He scored 11 of his 19 points in the game’s last three minutes, while accounting for Pitt’s final six points, with a go-ahead layup with 50 seconds remaining, and four foul shots to put the game on ice.
Lowe totaled five rebounds, four steals, two assists, and was 6-of-6 from the foul line as well.
“The team needed me to make plays and they trusted me to make plays and they put me in position to make plays,” Lowe said after his eighth double-digit scoring effort of the season. “I couldn't be more grateful for my team and the opportunity I have. I just trusted my work at the end of the day and just went out there and did what I could do.”
What Lowe can do is something few others can’t. When the game is in peril, this Pitt team can trust that they have a player who can will them to victory, even when everything else is not clicking, much like Saturday against Virginia Tech.
The Hokies rank last in the conference in terms of NET rankings. They entered with a five-game losing streak, and it was a game Pitt had expected to win a bit more comfortably. Virginia Tech had other ideas and played like a team Capel labeled as ‘desperate’ for a win. That made Pitt’s assignment a little more difficult.
Pitt trailed at halftime and did not grab a lead until Lowe’s layup with under a minute. That closing effort was impressive, mainly due to the fact he had a relative quiet game until it happened.
Virginia Tech really tried to pressure Lowe and the extra attention worked, as he only had four points at halftime and the Hokies were able to build a lead because of that.
It was almost the perfect plan until Lowe outran it.
Although, he admitted he needed nudged to get that that point and it actually started with his defense. When Capel called a timeout early in the second half, the Pitt coach was visibly unhappy with his team’s defensive effort above all else, and indicated he directed that primarily at his star point guard.
“I really got after the team, but especially Jaland in that moment,” said Capel. "He stepped up big time on the defensive end, and that was one of the things that ignited us.”
That push by the coach fueled the one by the player.
“He just told me he needs more effort,” Lowe said of his coach’s message. "He needs more out of me because he knew I wasn't giving it my 100% that I knew I could give on defense. I buckled up, got my mind right and went out and played as deep as I could in that moment.”
Lowe’s performance in the second half of Saturday’s game was also nothing out of the ordinary for him. In fact, it has become a trend more than anything. In Pitt’s 11-point win over LSU at the Greenbrier, Lowe scored 19 in the second half. It was the same thing against Ohio State, where 16 of his points came after halftime in a 91-90 overtime win.
“He’s showing the country what he is,” teammate Zack Austin said of Lowe’s clutch performances. “I’m so proud of that dude. I talked to him at half, said some things to him and he showed why he’s one of the best in the ACC for sure.”
Opposing teams have been able to neutralize Lowe at times, because all of the attention given to him, but he has shown he can eventually find a crack and get going at any point of the game.
“I'm not afraid of the moment,” said Lowe. “I love the moment.”
