The Pitt Panthers looked to be cruising to an easy win over Georgia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament, but the Yellow Jackets made a strong push in the second half to challenge the No. 5 seed. Pitt had to dig deep and gut an 89-81 win over a pesky Georgia Tech team on Wednesday at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The win improves Pitt's record to 22-10 on the season, and snapped a brief two-game losing streak to close out the regular season The Panthers have been near the cut line by most bracketology projections heading into this week and the win on Wednesday should help solidify their NCAA Tournament standing heading into Selection Sunday.

Georgia Tech had the game to within 85-81 with :22 seconds remaining on a Kyle Sturdivant jumper, but Greg Elliott sunk four straight free throws in the closing seconds to set the final score.

Jamarius Burton, fresh off being named a first-team All-ACC selection, led the Panthers with 21 points. Burton was 10-of-15 from the field and finished with 8 assists. It was Burton's first 20-point scoring effort since January 21st, and his fifth of the year. When the game got tight in the second half, Pitt leaned on its senior star. He scored 11 after halftime including a pretty floater in the lane with 1:23 left in the game.

Federiko Federiko had a big bounce back performance with 19 points and 8 rebounds. The sophomore center helped spark Pitt's run at the end of the first half. The two teams were in a tight game, but Pitt managed to stretch a 23-20 advantage with 7:23 remaining in the first half thanks to some hot shooting. The Panthers made seven consecutive field goals at one point in the first half. They had 10 assists on 16 made field goals and shot 59% in the first half and led 44-31 going into the break.

Pitt had won both regular season meetings, but Georgia Tech stuck around in each of the previous matchups. It was more of the same in the third game. Georgia Tech played with more urgency out of the break and made a serious threat to the Panthers.

Jeff Capel could not wait for a media timeout out of halftime, because his team committed three straight turnovers and the Yellow Jackets trimmed a 13-point point halftime deficit into a five-point game almost immediately.

Georgia Tech eventually grabbed a 52-50 lead on a Miles Kelly three-point play. Kelly was one of four Georgia Tech players to reach double figures. He finished with 16, as did Sturdivant.

Ja'Von Franklin caused problems for Pitt inside with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The Panthers held a narrow 34-33 advantage in the rebounding department, but allowed Georgia Tech to grab 12 offensive rebounds for the game.

Pitt's defense was solid in the first half and they allowed Georgia Tech to shoot 36%. It was a different story after halftime, as Georgia Tech outscored Pitt 50-45 in the second half.

Elliott overcame two poor performances in the games prior to finish with 16 points, and he was 4-of-4 from three-point range. Blake Hinson chipped in with 12, and Nelly Cummings provided for 11 points. Hinson's three-pointer with 40.5 seconds left made it 85-77 and felt like a knockout shot at the time.

The Panthers will return to action on Thursday in the quarterfinal round against fourth-seeded Duke. The Blue Devils received a double bye to open the tournament. The teams met once in the regular season with Duke prevailing 77-69 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Pitt now has 22 regular season wins, the highest season total for the program since winning 26 back in the 2013-14 season. The Panthers now find themselves in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament. Pitt has only advanced this far twice in their previous nine appearances in this event.