Pitt Outlasts Wake Forest in Overtime

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers fought back from early deficits and finally came through at home, taking down Wake Forest 80-76 in overtime at the Petersen Events Center.

This represents the first ACC home win for the Panthers, who lost their first four conference games in Pittsburgh. It's the first ACC win at the Petersen Events Center since a 93-67 blowout against Boston College in the regular season finale on March 8.

Pitt ties up the all-time series with Wake Forest at 9-9, improving to 6-2 at home and 6-9 in the ACC, with three straight victories over their conference foe at the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers also improve to 9-12 overall and 2-6 in the ACC, while the Demon Deacons fall to 11-10 overall, 2-6 in the ACC for their third straight defeat.

Pitt Fights Back to Keep it Close at Halftime

Wake Forest came out the better of the two teams, going on a 9-3 run over the first three minutes. Senior guard Nate Calmese hit a 3-pointer and made a mid-range jumper to lead the way with five points, while fellow senior in forward Tre'Von Spillers added two buckets in the paint for four points.

The Panthers reponded with a 7-0 run to take a 10-9 lead, with senior forward Cam Corhen and sophomore guard Nojus Indrusaitis making layups and freshman forward Roman Siulepa converting an and-one opportunity off of a layup.

Wake Forest then reestablished their advantage on a 14-1 run, making it 23-11 halfway through the first half. Sophomore guard Juke Harris scored eight points to lead the road them on their run, while Pitt missed all six shots they took from the field.

The Panthers stayed in the game, with a 15-5 run over the next seven minutes, making it a one possession game, down just 28-25. Siulepa added five points on a 3-pointer and a layup and sophomore guard Brandin Cummings scored four points on a layup and a jumper to lead the home team.

Freshman forward Jaylen Cross and Harris both hit s and sophomore guard Sebastian Akins made a layup for the Demon Deacons, while Indrusaitis made a late 3-pointer and Siulepa converted both free throws, keeping the Panthers down six points at halftime, 36-30.

Siuelpa and Cummings led Pitt with 10 points each, while Harris led Wake Forest with 11 points and Calmese added 10 points himself, but suffered an injury late on in the period and missed the rest of the game.

Pitt and Wake Forest Battle in Second Half

Cummings cut the deficit to just one-point for the Panthers right out of halftime, making a 3-pointer and then a sensational dunk made it a 36-35 game.

Harris and Spillers each added a basket, while junior guard Myles Colvin converted an and-one layup, keeping Wake Forest up, but a 3-pointer from both Cummings and fifth year guard Damarco Minor kept the deficit at just 43-41 at the Under-16 media timeout.

Wake Forest then got a 3-pointer from Harris and a dunk from Colvin, while Pitt freshman guard Omari Witherspoon made a layup and Corhen converted one of his two free throws, trailing 48-44 at the 12:28 mark.

Pitt got their first lead of the game thanks to none other than reserve freshman guard Macari Moore, who made a 3-pointer and scored a layup in back-to-back possessions, up 49-48 with 11:35 remaining.

Jan 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons forward Cooper Schwieger (13) handles the ball against Pittsburgh Panthers guard Macari Moore (21) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Colvin made two free throws to give the lead back to the Demon Deacons, 50-49, then the Panthers responded with back-to-back 3-pointers, as Witherspoon and Indrusaitis both converted from behind the arc.

Wake Forest retook the lead on an 11-3 run over the next four minutes, with junior forward Cooper Schweiger made two layups and Colvin added four points as well, giving the road team a 61-58 advantage at the 6:43 mark.

Pitt got the lead back with a layup from senior guard/forward Barry Dunning Jr. and two free throws from Corhen, going up 62-61 with 5:24 remaining.

The Demon Deacons took advantage of poor shooting from the Panthers, who missed their next four shots. Freshman guard scored a layup, Harris made on free throw, while Akins added a layup and the road team held a 66-62 advantage with two minutes remaining.

Dunning ended the almost four-minute scoring drought for Pitt with a reverse layup, cutting it to a two-point deficit at the 1:30 mark.

Wake Forest took a timeout on the next possession, but Siulepa was ready, forcing a steal and throwing down a ferocious dunk to tie it up at 66-66 with 1:02 remaining.

Pitt played strong defense on the next possesion and head coach Jeff Capel took a timeout with 30.9 seconds to go.

Witherspoon missed a wide open 3-pointer out of the timeout, giving the Demon Deacons a chance to win it, but Harris missed the go-ahead layup, sending the game into overtime.

Panthers Edge Out Demon Deacons in Overtime

Akins gave Wake Forest the lead out of halftime with a layup, but Siulepa gave it right back to Pitt with a corner 3-pointer, 69-68.

Corhen forced a steal and Dunning took advantage by making two free throws down on the other end to make it 71-68 for the Panthers one minute in.

Schweiger tied it up for the Demon Deacons with a 3-pointer and Colvin made two free throws to give the road team a 73-71 lead.

Cummings hit a 3-pointer afterwards to give Pitt a 74-73 lead midway, but after a scrum on the ground Colvin made a wide open shot from behind the arc, as Wake Forest led 76-74 with two minutes to go.

Jan 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Brandin Cummings (3) during player introductions against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Witherspoon made a steal and then Colvin fouled him, with the referees upgrading it to an intentional foul.

He made one of his two attempts to cut the deficit to one point, but then missed a stepback 3-pointer in the ensuing possession, giving Wake Forest a chance to call a timeout with a minute remaining.

Akins missed a 3-pointer, as Witherspoon blocked him and then Siulepa grabbed the rebound, with Pitt now having a chance to regain the lead, with at timeout at 29.4 seconds.

Witherspoon then made an impressive, stepback mid-range jumper out of the timeout, as Pitt took a 77-76 lead, leading Wake Forest to take a timeout with 11 seconds left.

Colvin immediately shot a 3-pointer from far out following the inbounds and missed, with Witherspoon getting the rebound and also fouled in the process.

He hit both free throws to put Pitt up 79-76 with 6.7 seconds left and Siulepa made a crucial tip for the steal for Dunning to go to the foul line, who then made one shot and gave the home team the four-point victory.

This was the first overtime game this season for the Panthers and first since a 78-75 home loss to Clemson on Jan. 18, 2025.

Players of the Game for Pitt

Siulepa and Dunning led the Panthers with 15 points each, while Siulepa had a season-high 15 rebounds in the victory.

Witherspoon finished with 13 points in the win over the Demon Deacons, scoring all of his points from the second half onward.

Cummings also added 13 points with nine of his points coming after the second half for Pitt.

The Panthers took advantage on offense with their rebounding, making 16 offensive rebounds and scoring 20 points off of them, compared to just nine for the Demon Deacons.

Pitt also scored 17 points off of 13 turnovers from Wake Forest, who scored just four points off of eight Pitt turnovers.

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