With 1:34 left in an unexpected double overtime Tuesday night, Jamel Artis rose up and knocked down a mid-range jumper.
Shortly after, Sheldon Jeter matched Artis with a jumper of his own to give Pitt a 92-89 lead over Wake Forest.
The two buckets effectively won Pitt the game and saved its season, as the Panthers (18-7, 7-6 ACC) eked out a 101-96 win over the Demon Deacons Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center.
Throughout a must-win game against a Wake Forest team that has now lost 11 in a row, Pitt struggled to take control. Luckily for the Panthers, the Demon Deacons couldn’t gain their footing either, as both teams consistently squandered leads.
Artis, whose ninth point of the game marked 1,000 points during his Pitt career, said the team knew how disastrous a loss could be for its NCAA tournament hopes. Instead of putting a damper on the season, he said Tuesday’s near-loss will breathe new life into the Panthers.
“This wasn’t going to be our season-breaker. This was going to be the start of it,” Artis, who marked a 1,000 point on his ninth point of the night, said.
Senior guard James Robinson first sent the game into overtime when he hit a step-back three to tie the game at 72. His shot matched a three by forward Konstantinos Mitoglou, and came after Pitt junior Chris Jones grabbed an offensive rebound and dished it to Robinson following an Artis missed three.
Jones’ snagged rebound was a paramount moment in the game, as Pitt dominated Wake Forest 26-9 on the offensive boards. Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning said that kind of play, above all else, decided the game.
“The biggest stat of the game is offensive rebounds,” Manning said.
Neither team showed resistance on the defensive end early on. Jones, getting the start at shooting guard over Sterling Smith for the second game in a row, netted nine of Pitt’s first 11 points, all of which were on open threes.
Jones finished with 23 points on 7-14 shooting, including five buckets from beyond the arc. He attributed his strong performance to the adept passing of his teammates.
“We have some really good passers in the starting five, so I just try to stay ready to shoot,” Jones said.
Meanwhile, Mitoglou scored seven of Wake Forest’s first 14. At the first TV timeout, Pitt led 15-14.
Wake Forest’s Bryant Crawford took advantage of sloppy offensive play from Pitt, going on an 8-0 run punctuated with a steal and layup off an inbounds pass. The run — which Crawford handled entirely — forced Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon to call a timeout.
Wake Forest shot 51 percent to the Panthers’ 40 from the field. Despite consistently subpar defense all season, Dixon said his team will improve on that end.
“I believe we’re going to get better,” Dixon said. “You would think we would have it figured it out by now, but I’m not giving up and we’re not giving up.”
In a three-minute stretch in the second half, Pitt went on a 13-4 run ending with a conversion and a layup by Young – his second in the stretch to give the Panthers a 56-46 lead.
Wake Forest came back with a streak of its own, bringing eight unanswered points and a final basket from Codi Miller-McIntyre. Pitt’s lazy defense prompted a Dixon timeout.
The Demon Deacons tied the game shortly after, when forward Devin Thomas converted a layup over Rafael Maia. Two minutes later, Crawford knocked down a three to put his team up 63-60. Following the nature of this game, Jones answered right back with a three of his own.
Crawford came back with a free throw and a dunk off a Jones turnover. After a layup from John Collins, Wake Forest took a 68-63 lead. Meanwhile, Dixon tried to keep his team’s spirits upbeat.
“In every huddle we’re saying, ‘we’re winning this game, we’re winning this game,’” Dixon said.
Again, the Panthers answered with a 6-0 streak, capped by a tip-in from Ryan Luther to give Pitt a 69-68 lead with 1:57 left.
Cornelius Hudson was the first to score in overtime, draining a three. Pitt battled back to eventually take a 78-77 lead off a Robinson mid-range jumper, only to see Hudson match with a layup.
Young converted two free throws for Pitt before Hudson, again, hit another three. Hudson had a chance to extend his team’s lead, but missed consecutive free throws, and the Panthers regained possession after a loose ball scrum. Wake Forest shot just 16-32 from the free throw line.
Luther mirrored Hudson when given a chance to tie or take the lead for Pitt, missing both of his free throws after getting fouled.
Wake Forest muffed an inbounds play that would’ve given it the chance to stomp out a Pitt victory. Robinson stole the pass and was fouled, knocking down one of two free throws to send the game to double overtime. Jeter was a key deterrent to the inbounds passer, Robinson said.
“Sheldon was very active on the ball, making it hard for them to get it in and we just denied, and he kind of just threw it right to me,” Robinson said.
Robinson just missed a triple double, accumulating 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
After trading points to start the second overtime, Hudson eventually hit a three to put the Demon Deacons up 89-88, as Dixon called a timeout with 2:17 left.
As the second overtime wound down, Pitt grabbed some key defensive rebounds and finally made its free throws on the other end to secure the victory.
The Panthers will return to play when they travel to Syracuse to play the Orange at 2 p.m. Saturday. With just five games left in the regular season, Dixon said his team will improve.
“People may look at me like I’m crazy and we’ve got 25 games in, but I believe we’ll get better,” Dixon said.