Cameron Corhen hit seven of his eight shots en route to a season-high 19 points, Jaland Lowe led the way with 27 and Pittsburgh exploded from a halftime deficit into an 86-74 victory over visiting California on Wednesday afternoon.
Playing their first road game as a new member of the ACC, the Golden Bears (7-6, 0-2 ACC) outgunned the Panthers (11-2, 2-0) en route to a 42-38 halftime lead.
But the hosts came out on fire in the second half, ignited by a Corhen jumper just 14 seconds after the intermission. The Panthers grabbed the lead for good on a Brandin Cummings 3-pointer at the 17:35 mark and gradually pulled away throughout the half.
After its 42-point first half, Cal had just six points in the first seven minutes of the second. The Golden Bears were outscored 19-6 over that span, falling behind 57-48.
Cal, which dropped its ACC debut at home to rival Stanford last month, never got closer than five after that.
Lowe’s 27 points were just one shy of the career-high 28 he put up at Ohio State in November. He shot just 9-for-23 but made all eight of his free throws while also finding time for a game-high eight assists.
Corhen complemented his 19 points with a game-high 11 rebounds for the Panthers, who won their fourth straight. Cummings, who made a game-high three 3-pointers, finished with 15 points.
Led by Corhen’s near-perfect afternoon, the Panthers shot 50.0 percent for the game. Cal finished at 40.0 percent.
Jeremiah Wilkinson paced Cal with 24 points off the bench. He made two of his seven 3-point attempts in a game in which the Golden Bears connected on just 6 of 21 (28.6 percent) from deep.
Andrej Stojakovic chipped in with 19 points, while DJ Campbell and Rytis Petraitis had 11 apiece for Cal, which fell for the fifth time in its last six games. Jovan Blacksher Jr. led the Golden Bears in assists with four in a scoreless effort.
–Field Level Media
