The long miserable road for Pitt continued last night as the Panthers dropped their 10th straight ACC game and 19th straight ACC road game in a 73-65 loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA.
Georgia Tech’s Jose Alvarado pumped in 29 points, James Banks had 10 rebounds and five blocked shots and Yellow Jackets ended a seven-game skid.
Pitt’s Jared Wilson-Frame posted 19 points while Xavier Johnson added 14 points for Pitt (12-15, 2-12 in the ACC). The Panthers missed 18 free throws and had 12 shots blocked. It continues a long trend set by last year’s head coach Kevin Stallings of no post play combined with a lack of shooters.
Early in the game, Georgia Tech had a 17-0 run to take a 25-7 lead in the first half, but Pitt caused problems with its trap defense in the second half and pulled within one with 7:57 left when Wilson-Frame dropped one of his five 3 pointers. The Yellow Jackets led 52-51 at that point. Pitt would get no closer.
Game Note:
Pittsburgh: Johnson now has 448 points, the most by a freshman in school history. He surpassed Charles Smith, who scored 435 points in 1985. Pitt’s three freshman – Xavier Johnson, Trey McGowens and Au’Diese Toney account for nearly 60 percent of the offense.
Next up: Clemson at Pitt, Wed 2/27 at 7pm EST, Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA, ACCN