Pitt survives late Wake Forest rally, advances to ACC semifinals
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ishmael Leggett’s 30-point effort Thursday afternoon at Capital One Arena was special for many reasons.
The most basic reason is this: Without it, Pitt could not have defeated Wake Forest, 81-69, in an ACC Tournament quarterfinal game.
Also, the precise number of points felt right because the Prince George’s County (Md.) native said he scored one for every family member in attendance. “Literally,” he said, with a wide smile.
Beyond the numbers, however, and what it means to Pitt’s program, Leggett picked the right time to put his teammates on his back.
“My dad was there,” he said of Detrick Leggett, who suffered a stroke when Ishmael was in high school. “That was big for me. He isn’t able to make it to many games. That was a great one for him to see.”
Leggett’s performance wasn’t the first time he scored 30 points in a game. But it was the first time on the U.S. mainland. He scored 34 for Rhode Island last season in a November loss to Tulane in the Cayman Island Classic.
Leggett fell short of his career high Thursday, but this one mattered just a bit more. It lifted Pitt into the tournament semifinals Friday night against No. 1-seeded North Carolina (26-6).
Pitt (22-10) was in control for most of the afternoon, building a 55-36 lead with 13 minutes, 14 seconds left in the game. Suddenly, Wake Forest (20-13) kept making shots from all angles, especially first-team All-ACC guard Hunter Sallis, who hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the midst of a 28-12 run.
The Panthers looked up nearly 10 minutes later (of game clock time), and their lead was 67-64.
“I started getting a little bit scared,” Guillermo Diaz Graham said. “But then, we have players like Ish and Blake (Hinson).”
After a putback by Hinson, who scored 20 points, two foul shots and a basket by Leggett and a layup by Diaz Graham, Pitt had matters in control.
“We knew what it takes to win,” said Leggett, who added eight rebounds, five steals and committed no turnovers in 35 minutes. “That was the key to our success.”
After Pitt’s lead was whittled to three, the Panthers finished with the double-digit victory margin that might pay off Sunday when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee sorts out this year’s madness.
“I think we’re one of the best 68 teams in the country. I think we’ve shown that over the last couple of months (winning 12 of 15 games),” said coach Jeff Capel, who admits to ignorance of the metrics and analytics that go into the selection process. “We’ll see. But as long as we keep winning, then we increase our chances of getting in.”
Back in the Pitt locker room, players hooted and hollered and did everything but hoist Leggett on their shoulders when he walked through the door after meeting with his family. Chatting with reporters, point guard Jaland Lowe gave a vivid description of his teammate, who repeatedly scored through contact, hitting 11 of 18 shots and all six of his free throws.
“I saw a dog. I saw a leader,” said Lowe, who scored 11 points while hitting 7 of 8 free-throw attempts. “That’s what we see day-in and day-out from him. He’s going to go bully you, and we’re going to go right after you if you mess with him. We ride on that guy.”
Speaking in broad terms, the game represented what Diaz Graham called “a redemption trip.”
“We got beat really bad last time (a 91-58 loss to Wake Forest on Feb. 20),” he said. “Our focus was show up and get back to what (we are like).”
Pitt’s players said they weren’t strong enough in that loss.
“You have to be stronger than them,” Diaz Graham said. “Last time, we didn’t play with strength, and they were able to take the ball out of our hands for easy layups. We knew we had to be strong with the ball and finish through contact.”
The game plan was to stop Sallis, who was scoreless through the game’s first 19 minutes while Pitt seized a 38-26 lead at intermission. But there was more to the plan than merely focusing on Sallis.
Pitt put pressure on 7-foot center Efton Reid, a former Pitt commit who scored 12 points but only five after halftime.
“Not only (Federiko Federiko) and me playing good defense, but also the guards helping us,” Diaz Graham said. “We also knew if we stop him, we can make a game out of it, just by everyone being together and being on the same page, you know. All of us together make it work. It’s like an engine.”
For much of the game, Pitt was clicking on both ends of the court, especially in the first half and after Wake Forest’s aborted late rally. Pitt hit 16 of 19 free throws after halftime (20 of 25 for the game).
Lowe is only a freshman, but he contributed five assists and made only one turnover in 39 minutes. How did he remain poised in front of a noisy crowd of 14,920? Actually, he’s done it previously — in his mind.
“I imagined myself in these positions when I was a kid,” he said. “That’s the one thing I think about the most in these really high, hectic moments, just being a kid at a park.
“Shooting free throws at the end of the game when you need them, crowd on their feet, you need a stop, you need a bucket. That’s really what college basketball is, bringing me back to my childhood.”
Lowe was pleased he and his teammates were able to put their improved play on the ACC’s grandest stage.
“A lot of these teams got some wins on us early,” he said. “We feel like we’re in a great position right now where everybody is feeling great. We’re catching our stride. We know what really works for us. We’re getting everybody at our best.”