Panthers lose their third straight game.
Pitt traveled to Atlanta Tuesday night and fell to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 61-52. The Panthers now drop to 15-15 on the season, and 4-13 within the ACC. It was another close game in which Pitt faltered down the stretch.
The Panthers grabbed the lead at the 5:18 mark in the second half on a Jamel Artis three-point play, but the Yellow Jackets took the lead back, and held it from there. Mike Young did cut the lead to 54-52 at the 2:55 mark, but Pitt was held scoreless the remainder of the game and Josh Pastner’s squad finished the game on a 7-0 run.
Pitt was led in scoring by senior Michael Young, who finished with 16 points and 4 rebounds. Also in double figures were Cameron Johnson with 13, and Jamel Artis with 12.
Pitt held a narrow halftime lead, but the second half turned into a grind reminiscent of an old-Big East game. The Panthers shot 37.7% from the field, and made just 7 of their 23 3-point attempts.
Today marked the return of Ryan Luther, who has missed the last 12 games with a foot injury. He had a quiet return with just 1 points and 3 boards. In fact, his foul-shot was the only point Pitt received from their bench.
Georgia Tech’s offense wasn’t much better throughout most of the game, but they did heat up in the late game. They were paced by 6’10” junior center Ben Lammers, who finished with 20 points. The Panthers seemingly did not have an answer inside for him.
Pitt will conclude the regular season on Saturday at #23 Virginia. Pitt actually defeated the Cavaliers earlier in the season 88-76 in overtime. The Cavaliers have been struggling in recent weeks, but did just hold down North Carolina by a score of 53-43.
