On the night Pitt celebrated the 35th anniversary of Jerome Lane’s glass-shattering dunk against providence, the Panthers took the ball downtown, hitting 18 three-pointers and holding off a charge by Wake Forest to beat the Demon Deacons, 81-79.
Pitt’s first six baskets of the night were threes, as they opened the game 6-of-8 beyond the arc. For the night, they were 18-for-37 from downtown as they tied the school record for threes in a game. Blake Hinson shot 8-for-14 and Greg Elliott 6-for-9 on threes, with neither of them shooting from inside the arc all night. Hinson led all scorers with 24 points and Elliott had 18. Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande each had 11.
Coach Jeff Capel was thrilled.
Pitt led by as many as fourteen in the first half and by ten at halftime. The Panthers did not score after the 2:20 mark but their defense held up, especially on the last play of the game, when they forced Wake Forest star Tyree Appleby to try a difficult three-pointer.
Capel says it was a designed defensive play.
Pitt will play Miami on Saturday at the Petersen Events Center. The 14-7 Panthers and Hurricanes are tied with North Carolina for third place in the ACC, all of them with 7-3 records.
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