Panthers lose on the road again

Offensive rebounds a weapon for Wake

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — In a scene that was reminiscent of the Pitt program’s very recent past — a sparsely populated arena with a host team with eight wins through 21 games and a head coach with increasingly tenuous job security — the Panthers were unable to put another piece of that sad history behind them.

Three players finished in double figures, led by 23 points from guard Xavier Johnson, but Pitt was unable to hold a late lead after storming back from an eight-point deficit in the final five minutes, falling, 7876, in overtime Tuesday against Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

The setback, which coach Jeff Capel described as “heartbreaking,” extended the Panthers’ losing streak to six games and pushed their road losing streak to 20, 17 of which have come against ACC teams, with their last road win coming 727 days ago (against Boston College on Feb. 8, 2017).

After nine games against teams that were ranked at some point this season to start ACC play, the Demon Deacons — tied for last place in the league with a 1-8 conference record, a five-game losing streak in which they were outscored by a combined 98 points, and losses earlier this season to the likes of Houston Baptist, Richmond and Gardner Webb — represented a reprieve, an opponent which

would not outmatch Pitt, a team that the Panthers were favored to beat, even on the road.

Wake Forest proved to be something much more formidable, showing how difficult getting road wins in conference play can be, regardless of the opponent’s record or resume.

“I think we’re evenly matched with everyone,” Capel said. “This one was difficult, but they’re all difficult. I don’t buy into ‘We’re not evenly matched.’ I don’t buy into that. You can write that or say that, but I don’t buy that. It’s disrespectful to both teams, to be honest with you, but that’s my opinion.”

Senior Jared WilsonFrame added 17 points while making five of his eight 3pointers and graduate transfer Sidy N’Dir had 15 points, making six of eight shots. As a team, the Panthers (12-11, 2-8 ACC) surrendered 18 offensive rebounds, which the Demon Deacons (9-13, 2-8) converted into 12 secondchance points, some which proved to be more costly than others.

Wake Forest took control of what had been a back-andforth game with a 15-2 run over a stretch of 3:08. That spurt was capped off by a three-point play in which Wake guard Sharone Wright Jr. was fouled attempting a dunk, only to have the ball bounce high off the rim and swish through the net on its way down, giving his team a 61-53 lead with 5:13 left.

In the face of that barrage, Pitt counterpunched, going on a 12-4 run to even the score. After forcing the Demon Deacons into a miss on the other end, Johnson added two free throws following a swift drive to the basket, giving Pitt its first lead in more than six minutes, 67-65, with 44 seconds left.

That lead held, even as Pitt had chances to increase it, like when Johnson missed the front end of a oneand-one with 20 seconds to go, setting up a nightmarish final sequence. After missing a jumper with 13 seconds left, Wake Forest gathered the offensive rebound before throwing up another miss two seconds later. Yet again, it came down with the offensive rebound and, this time, called a timeout. Coming out of that, Chaundee Brown chucked up a deep 3 that missed badly, not even hitting the rim, but Jaylen Hoard was under the basket, with no Panther within three or four feet of him, to collect the ball and lay it in with 0.3 seconds remaining, forcing overtime.

“We just didn’t rebound,” Capel said. “We didn’t rebound. We forced a very tough shot, a long shot. I have to watch the tape, but if I’m a betting man, we stood and watched instead of going to pursue the ball.”

In the extra period, and with Pitt trailing by two with 11 seconds remaining, Wake’s Isaiah Mucius made only one of two free throws. To prevent a tie game with a single 3-point shot, Johnson was fouled on the other end with six seconds remaining. He made the first free throw, but missed the second, something he had not been instructed to do.

Wake then got the ball and dribbled out the clock.

“It’s really sickening because we had it,” N’Dir said. “We should have won that game.”