Jaland Lowe carries Pitt to 2nd-half rally in victory at Virginia Tech in ACC opener

Before Pitt found its shooting touch, before the Panthers started to play with the necessary physicality and focus, before Jaland Lowe decided the floor was his, Pitt looked like a team headed for defeat.

Suddenly, the momentum shifted and Lowe scored 15 points in the second half Saturday to lead Pitt to a 64-59 victory against Virginia Tech in both teams’ ACC opener.

It was Pitt’s first victory inside Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va., since 2003 — or 1 1/2 years before Lowe was born. The Panthers, ranked 18th in the nation by the Associated Press, concluded their five-game stretch of road games against power conference foes with a 3-2 record. Pitt’s 8-2 overall record is second-best among all ACC teams (tied with SMU and Stanford).

Lowe played all 40 minutes, finishing with a loaded stat line of a game-high 19 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Pitt assistant coach Milan Brown liked everything he saw from Lowe. But he was referring to the steals when he said on the 93.7 FM postgame show that Lowe changed the game when he “took the kid’s candy a couple times.”

“I’m glad he’s on our side. I’m glad I get to coach him.”

Pitt trailed 56-49 with 5 minutes, 19 seconds left in the game before it closed with a 15-3 run. Lowe scored 11 of the 15 with four free throws, a 3-pointer and two driving layups in the last 3:04. Ishmael Leggett, who scored 17 points, hit two foul shots and Guillermo Diaz Graham two others during the run.

Diaz Graham contributed the biggest defensive play of the game when he blocked Ben Burnham’s shot near the basket with 50 seconds left and Pitt up 60-59.

Brown used the adjectives “special” and “tough-minded” to describe Lowe, a sophomore guard.

But he also praised the entire team by quoting two pro coaches with championships in their past after Pitt won its second close game in nine days on an enemy court: Ohio State and Virginia Tech.

“In the second half, every media timeout, we kept saying, ‘There’s another level to go to if we’re going to do it,’ ” Brown said. “Almost to quote the great Mike Tomlin, ‘I know a lot of people who are capable. I know even less who are willing.’ The whole past two days was ‘Who’s willing to do everything we have to do in order to come out on the right side of things?’ That last run proved that we were.”

Another key to the victory was rebounding, something that was lacking Wednesday in a 33-point loss at Mississippi State. Virginia Tech (3-6) has lost six in a row, but it won the rebound battle in its previous eight games until Pitt gained a 31-30 edge Saturday. Diaz Graham secured seven rebounds, Cam Corhen six and Leggett, Lowe and Zack Austin five each.

“Pat Riley said it, ‘No rebounds, no rings,’ ” Brown said. “It was a big point of emphasis for us, and it came from multiple guys.”

Added Diaz Graham, who also scored nine points: “For us, it was rebounding. The key for us was get on the boards and don’t let other teams get second-chance points. Just be physical, too.”

Diaz Graham also gave credit to his coaches for “trusting me.”

“They trust the player I am,” he said. “They know I’m a good player, and I can make plays out there. For me to make plays, even though I was having (a sub-par game), it was big time, especially for me.”

Diaz Graham missed six of seven 3-point attempts, part of Pitt’s woeful shooting effort from beyond the arc (six of 28). Actually, Pitt didn’t start playing the way coaches want until after halftime. Virginia Tech led 36-28 at the break.

”There was a level of physicality that you have to have and a level of focus that you have to have when you’re in ACC play on the road,” Brown said. “We weren’t all the way there.”

But Brown was surely OK with how the game ended. Now, Pitt won’t play on another team’s floor until Jan. 7 at Duke. Pitt has two mid-major games at Petersen Events Center against Eastern Kentucky and Sam Houston on Wednesday and next Saturday.

”Anytime you get a road win and you can pack it in an overhead carrier, pack that W,” Brown said, “it’s a good day.”

Pitt trailed for 30 minutes, but a tough defensive effort and a strong will ended up forcing 17 Hokie turnovers.

“(Lowe) changed the game when he started putting pressure on their guards,” Diaz Graham said. “You could hear the guards asking for help. They couldn’t run anything. That’s was a key to winning the game was the guards stepping up and being physical to their guards.”

Then, he added, “When you see Ish (Leggett) diving for his life (for loose balls), it shows we really want it.”