Omari Witherspoon’s go-ahead jumper with 15 seconds left powered host Pittsburgh to an 80-76 Atlantic Coast Conference win over Wake Forest on Tuesday night.
Roman Siulepa collected his third consecutive double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to pace the Panthers (9-12, 2-6 ACC), who snapped a three-game losing streak. Barry Dunning Jr. posted 15 points while Witherspoon and Brandin Cummings added 13 apiece.
Myles Colvin led Wake Forest (11-10, 2-6) in scoring with 18 points, including five in overtime. He had a chance to give the Demon Deacons the lead in the final seconds, but he missed an open 3-point attempt off an inbounds pass.
Wake Fores, which dropped its third game in a row, held a 66-64 lead in the final minute of regulation before a Siulepa steal and breakaway dunk tied the game. Wake Forest had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Juke Harris missed a layup in heavy traffic to send the game to overtime.
Harris scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Nate Calmese scored 10 points in 10 minutes, but he left the game at the 6:48 mark of the first half due to a lower body injury. He was assisted to the locker room with crutches and did not return.
Wake Forest used an early 14-1 run to build a 23-11 lead on Harris’ jumper in the lane at the 9:51 mark. By halftime, Pittsburgh was able to fight back to make it a 36-30 game.
Pittsburgh built a 55-50 lead via an 8-2 run that featured back-to-back 3-pointers from the corner by Nojus Indrusaitis and Witherspoon.
Wake Forest’s Cooper Schwieger set a season high with 11 rebounds.
The Panthers’ free-throw troubles continued as they shot under 70% from the line for the fourth consecutive game. However, they went 6 of 8 in the overtime session as Witherspoon hit a pair with six seconds left and Dunning added an insurance free throw with three seconds to go.
–Field Level Media
