Pitt at Georgia Tech Live Feed: Panthers Escape Atlanta Victorious

The Pitt Panthers did not play their best game but still accomplished something difficult - winning on the road in the ACC.

ATLANTA -- The Pitt Panthers will have to do something they haven't in a long time this afternoon. They haven't lost consecutive games in more than two months. They rattled off 10 wins in 11 tries after falling to West Virginia, Michigan and VCU early in the season and will try pull off a similar feat to get back on track after dropping two straight to Clemson and Duke. 

Pitt, who's struggled away from the Petersen Events Center, will have to do it against a scrappy Georgia Tech team that is 8-2 at home, but fighting to get out of the ACC cellar.  

Matchup: Pitt at Georgia Tech
Time: 3:00 P.M. ET
Where: McCammish Pavillion
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: Pitt 71, Georgia Tech 60.

There are no easy road wins in the ACC this season and Pitt’s trip to Atlanta was no different. The Panthers were never able to build more than a 10-point lead in this game, lost the offensive rebounding battle, gave up 19 second-chance points and let Division I’s 250th most prolific 3-point shooting team shoot 39% from deep, but won anyway. It speaks to their resilience and their malleability. This team can win in a lot of different ways, especially when they are not at their best.

Nike Sibande deserves every flower possible - he was fantastic at a time Pitt desperately needed him. He set a season-high in points with 21 on 7-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds in 34 minutes of action. He, Jamarius Burton and Nelly Cummings used their scoring abilities to help close this game out while their teammates shored up their defense and rebounding in the second half to help secure the victory. Pitt also took great care of the basketball - just three total turnovers - a good indicator that win is coming. 

Stephen: Nike Sibande's acrobatic and-one layup puts Pitt up 60-53 with 3:19 left in the game and ends a scoring drought of 3:38. That's a season-high in points for him with 18 and he'll have a chance to add to it at the line after the final media timeout of the game. 

Stephen: Jeff Capel called timeout right before the final media timeout of the game. His team needed some time to regroup after missing their last three shots. Tech has crawled back within a couple of possessions and trails just 58-53 as we hit crunch time. 

Stephen: Pitt has stabailized things thanks to some scoring bursts from Burton and Cummings, who have combined to score the Panthers' last nine points. Georgia Tech keeps making that one necessary play - whether its a stop or tough basket - to stay within arms length. The visitors lead by eight at the under-eight minute media timeout.  

Stephen: Georgia Tech as responded to Pitt's run with a pair of triples and a layup through conract from Smith to cut the deficit to 50-46 with 11:59 to play. Smith is going to the line after a media timeout to try and make it a one-possession game. 

Stephen: 

When you hear coaches say "It's hard to win on the road in the ACC", it's not an empty cliche. Just four ACC teams have winning records on the road in conference play so far this year. #Pitt has a big opportunity in front of them, up double-digits at Georgia Tech.

— stephen thompson (@stephenethom) January 14, 2023

Stephen: Pitt has scored eight of the second half's first 10 points and extended their halftime lead to 46-36 - the largest of the afternoon. Josh Pastner is forced to call timeout after Cummings hits back-to-back buckets. The Yellow Jackets have missed their first three attempts from deep after halftime.  

Stephen: Halftime: Pitt 38, Georgia Tech 34. 

The Panthers have shot 5-12 from deep and turned the ball over just once but that is about all they've done well. The Yellow Jackets are small and have not been great shooters so far this year but they've made eight of 19 attempts from 3-point range, are winning the offensive rebounding battle 8-4 and scored 12 second-chance points to Pitt's four. 

Sibande' scored 14 points, Burton has 10 and Federiko has collected six rebounds and blocked two shots. Coleman's three 3-pointers make him Tech's leading scorer. Deivon Smith has seven points and eight rebounds as well. 

Stephen: 3-point defense is becoming an issue as well. The Yellow Jackets made another triple in between when I wrote that Tweet and when I'm writing this. At least two of those makes have come from kickouts off offensive rebounds. 

Georgia Tech, who's 6.9 3-point makes per game ranked 250th in Division I entering today, has made 6 of 15 attempts from deep today. #Pitt

— stephen thompson (@stephenethom) January 14, 2023

Pitt still leads, 32-31, thanks in large part to the lift Nike Sibande has given them. He's scored 14 points and made three 3-pointers in just 14 minutes. 

Stephen: A 7-0 run gabe the Panthers their largest lead of the game at 24-18, but Deebo Coleman continued to be a game-wrecker from deep by hitting his third 3-pointer of the game. His triple came off another offensive rebound. Georgia Tech trails by just one, 24-23, with 6:10 to go until halftime.  

Stephen: The Panthers have made three 3-pointers so far and hold a two-point lead with just over eight minutes gone in the first half, which is good. What's not good is how Pitt is rebounding against a team with just one regular member of the lineup taller than 6'9. The Yellow Jackets have scored six of their 11 points off second chances and own a 10-6 advantage on the glass. 

Stephen: 

It's early, but Georgia Tech with an early 7-3 edge in rebounding. After Wednesday, it's hard not to focus on that stat. Pitt needs to do a better job on the glass.

— Jim Hammett (@JimHammett) January 14, 2023

Stephen: Pitt leads 10-6 at the first media timeout of the game. Hinson has come out hot - six points on a couple of 3-pointers - and Pitt's defense has held Georgia Tech to 2-8 shooting from the field, blocked two shots and forced a turnover. 

That Nelly Cummings has two early fouls and the Panthers are shooting just 2-7 from the field is cause for concern, but the defense has been good enough to cover for it. 

Stephen: Pitt is sticking with their usual starting lineup against the Yellow Jackets - Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliot, Jamarius Burton, Blake Hinson and Fede Federiko. 

Georgia Tech sends Lance Terry, Dallan Coleman, Miles Kelly, Jalon Moore and Rodney Howard out as their starting five. 

Stephen: In case you missed it: John Hugley announced earlier today that he would sit out the remainder of the season to "invest in healing both physically and mentally". 

Stephen: Pitt's experience and resiliancy - two things the Panthers have boasted as their calling cards this season - will have to be on full display today against the Yellow Jackets. The Panthers passed the toughest four-gae stretch of their schedule with great marks but still have a long way to go before they reach their lofty goals. 

Whether Pitt can pull out of this two-game skid to beat an opponent they are decidedly better than or will fall back into the poor habits of a team desperate for wins will tell if they are really a contender to make the postseason. 

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

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