Pitt drops tight game at Wake Forest to end 2-game winning streak

He wasn’t bragging, but Jeff Capel was willing to admit that Pitt didn’t back down in a hostile environment Saturday during a 76-74 loss at Wake Forest.

“I thought we were tough. I thought we were ready, and we competed,” he said.

“A good team beat us.”

The salient point is clear in that final remark, however. By any other name, it was still a loss and a loss matters, especially when it comes against a good team.

For the Panthers (14-7, 5-5 ACC), it was their fifth defeat in the past seven games and an opportunity wasted to record a Quad 1 victory. Pitt is 1-6 in such games, a record that — if not corrected in the other direction — will hurt Pitt’s chances to reach the NCAA Tournament.

The loss stopped Pitt’s two-game winning streak and was its third by four points or fewer since the Louisville game Jan. 11.

The game was exciting for the 10,787 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C., and well-played for the most part, with two teams answering each other basket for basket.

But there were elements that will bother Capel at least until Pitt has the chance to bounce back Monday against Virginia inside Petersen Events Center. No matter how hard the Panthers competed, they shot only 42.9% (24 of 56) and couldn’t match Wake Forest’s 52.2 shooting percentage (24 of 46).

“We had shots right at the rim that we didn’t make that we have to finish,” Capel said, “whether it’s layups, pullups. We had some opportunities. We just didn’t capitalize.”

Damian Dunn scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Panthers, Ishmael Leggett added 16 and Jaland Lowe 14.

Cam Hildreth led the Demon Deacons with 24 points and three 3-pointers in three attempts. Point guard Ty-Laur Johnson contributed 16, including only his eighth and ninth 3-pointers of the season. All-ACC guard Hunter Sallis scored 13, 11 in the second half.

“Give credit to them. They made big shots,” Capel said.

Wake Forest’s largest lead was nine points midway through the first half. Pitt was up five early in the second but couldn’t build on it.

The momentum started turning in favor of Wake Forest (16-6, 8-3) with the score tied 63-63 and 2 minutes, 12 seconds left in the game. Sallis appeared to be hemmed in by three Pitt defenders near the baseline, but he found a way to avoid all those bodies and long arms and score in a way that seemed almost miraculous on the surface. But Capel and Pitt associate head coach Tim O’Toole said the basket was avoidable.

“We had him pinned in. We can’t let him out. We have to stay aggressive,” Capel said.

Added O’Toole on the 93.7 FM postgame show: “He turned and spun, and we gave him space. You just have to keep walling up so he can’t see. We kind of let him off the hook.”

After that, Leggett created another tie with two foul shots — Pitt was perfect from the free-throw line (20 of 20) for the second time this season — but it didn’t last more than a minute when Sallis hit a 3-pointer.

Overall, the Demon Deacons hit 42.1% of their 19 3-pointers after coming into the game shooting 28.2% from beyond the arc.

“They made eight tonight and some big ones,” Capel said.

Pitt’s last best chance came with 22 seconds left and Wake Forest up 70-67. Pitt’s defense ran the shot clock down to two seconds, but at that point Cam Corhen fouled Johnson, who made the first two of his game-deciding six consecutive free throws.

“These are the little things,” O’Toole said. “You have to learn from these situations.”

Pitt had little room for error, considering Wake Forest hit 20 of their 22 foul shots and were playing at home. Pitt never has won in Winston-Salem in seven tries, and the Demon Deacons are 11-1 at home this season.

Still, Capel will point out to his players several avenues on both ends of the court they could have taken to victory.

“We have to have defensive balance. If we take a shot, we can’t give up a layup in transition,” he said.

Now, while Pitt prepares for its final 10 ACC regular-season games, the Panthers need to play better than its current 5-5 conference record. Otherwise, they may face the possibility of missing the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

“Unfortunately, you don’t have a large runway (to lose games),” O’Toole said. “Unfortunately, that’s where we find ourselves.”