Inside The Panthers

Pitt vs Wake Forest Live Feed: Panthers Ride Hot Shooting to Victory

The Pitt Panthers made 18 3-pointers in a comfortable win over Wake Forest.
Stephen Thompson|
Pitt vs Wake Forest Live Feed: Panthers Ride Hot Shooting to Victory
Pitt vs Wake Forest Live Feed: Panthers Ride Hot Shooting to Victory

In this story:

Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers needed this win over Wake Forest. Their NCAA Tournament resume had suffered a blow when they lost to Florida State at home but Pitt made that ground up by bombing triples all over Wake Forest.

The Panthers picked up a Quad 2 win at the Petersen Events Center on the strength of their offense, which set a program-record in 3-point makes against the Demon Deacons. 

Matchup: Pitt vs. Wake Forest
Time: 7:00 P.M. ET
Where: Petersen Events Center
How to Watch: ACC Network
How to Listen: 93.7 The Fan

Live Game Chat

Come chat with our Inside the Panthers team. Stephen Thompson will share their thoughts and news, and any highlights from the game. Tweet at us at @InsidePitt to have your thoughts and reactions shared in the feed.

Stephen: Final: Wake Forest 79, Pitt 81.

Wake Forest had the ball down two with 6.1 seconds left after the Panthers let the clock run out on their final possession. The Deacons had been on a 5-0 run but it ended there. Appleby’s final 3-pointer went wide and Pitt held on.

It looked like a late defensive switch by Wake Forest was going to sink the Panthers, but some shooting heroics from Blake Hinson and Greg Elliot covered for sub-par defense and a more than three-minute scoring drought as the Panthers pulled out a gutsy, necessary win over the Deacs.

Stephen: 

Stephen: 

Stephen: Pitt's lead has been trimmed to just three at 67-64 with 8:33 to go. Jeff Capel called a full timeout to address both the offense and defense with his group. Seems like there is some frustration settling in for the Panthers. 

Stephen: Wake has used their 1-3-1 zone defense to frustrate the Panthers and force them into some turnovers and misses on four of their last six attempts from the field. The Demon Deacons have made seven of their last nine shots and closed the gap to 62-58 with 11:13 to play. 

Fouls have begun to pile up too for the Panthers. Cummings, Elliot, Hinson, Burton and Federiko have two each. 

Stephen: 

Stephen: 

Stephen: If you like defense, this is not the game for you. Neither team can get stops, particularly as we open the second half. Both teams are a combined 7-12 from the field and Pitt is holding on to a 57-48 lead with 15:42 to play. 

Stephen: Halftime: Wake Forest 39, Pitt 49. 

The Panthers came out red-hot and did not look back. They made 10 first half 3-pointers, forced six turnovers, scored seven points off those turnovers, got 15 points from their bench and assisted on 14 of 16 made baskets. That is as good a start as one could hope for in a game as big as this. 

Hinson has a game-high 15 points on five 3-pointers, Elliot has nine points on three triples and Cummings has eight points, five assists and zero turnovers. Seven of the eight Demon Deacons to play have scored, led by Hildreth with eight points. 

Stephen: The good news: Pitt has opened up a 40-30 lead on the strength of 50% shooting from the field and 52% shooting from deep. I don't think the Panthers' defense has been particularly good, but they've held the Decons to 30.8% shooting from beyond the arc and a 46% mark the floor overall. 

The bad news: Blake Hinson has picked up his second foul. Jamarius Burton has two as well. It's too early to feel comfortable with that.  

Stephen: Hinson rattled home his fourth 3-pointer of the night and Nike Sibande hit a short floater to put the Panthers back on top after Wake Forest took a brief one-point lead. 

Stephen: 

Stephen: Nate Santos and Guillermo Diaz-Graham dunked in Pitt's first two 2-pointers of the evening, but the Panthers' lead has been trimmed to just 22-21 with 10:33 to go until halftime. Cummings has four assists - many of which have gone to Hinson and Elliot, who share the game-high in points with nine, entirely on 3-pointers. 

Stephen: 

Stephen: Making shots is a good way to neutralize your opponent's tendency to play fast. Pitt has made four of six field goals - all from 3-point range and leads 12-8 with 14:04 to play in the first half. Elliot and Hinson have knocked down two triples each. 

Stephen: 

Stephen: Your starters for Pitt are familiar ones: Nelly Cummings, Jamarius Burton, Greg Elliot, Blake Hinson and Fede Federiko. Tyree Appleby, Cameron Hildreth, Damari Monsanto, Andrew Carr and Matthew Marsh will start for Wake Forest. 

Stephen: Jerome Lane will be in attendance tonight as the Panthers honor the 35-year anniversary of his legendary, backboard-shattering dunk against Providence. The incomparable Mike Gorman and Bill Rafferty provided excellent, stunned commentary on that moment. 

Another legendary Panther is expected to be in attendance tonight. He did some cool stuff against Wake Forest if I remember correctly. Pitt will hope he can summon some of that magic for them again. 

Stephen: Tonight's result will hinge a lot upon how much Pitt defenders can win their one-on-one matchups. Some of this team's worst losses - including the very recent Florida State loss - have come when the Panthers struggled to stop the ball. 

It will be a tall, but necessary task against a Wake Forest team that ranks 73rd nationally in adjusted tempo and 19th in offensive efficiency and features so many tremendous scorers like Tyree Appleby, Cameron Hildreth and Damari Monsanto - who all average north of 12 points per game. 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and so much more!

Phil Jurkovec Wants Local Recruits to Stay Home, Play for Pitt

Pitt DT Calijah Kancey Falls in Top 10 of Latest ESPN Mock Draft

Josh Allen Dismisses Damar Hamlin Conspiracy Theories

Pitt vs Wake Forest: Game Info, Odds, Three Storylines

Twin 2023 OL Brody, Graysen Riffe Commit to Pitt

Pitt DT Devin Danielson Returning for One More Season

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

Share on XFollow stephenethom
Home/Basketball