Brandin Cummings poured in 23 points and Pitt collected its first Atlantic Coast Conference victory of the season by defeating Georgia Tech 89-66 on Wednesday night in Atlanta.
Barry Dunning Jr. posted 17 points, Nojus Indrusaitis hit four 3-point shots on the way to 16 points and Cameron Corhen notched 15 points for Pitt (8-9, 1-3 ACC), which snapped a three-game losing streak by winning for just the third time in the past nine games.
Roman Siulepa’s 11 points and eight rebounds also aided the Panthers, who shot 53.1% from the field and ended up with their second-highest point total of the season.
Kam Craft’s 14 points and Baye Ndongo’s 12 points and eight rebounds were tops for Georgia Tech (10-8, 1-4), which lost its third game in a row. Kowacie Reeves Jr. and Chas Kelley III each finished with 11 points, but the Yellow Jackets were charged with 15 turnovers.
Reserves topped the scoring charts for both teams. Craft had four of Georgia Tech’s eight 3-point buckets.
Cummings, who came off the bench to lead Pitt in scoring for the second game in a row, tallied 10 points in less than a five-minute span in the second half as the Panthers maintained control of a lead of approximately 20 points.
Georgia Tech shot 31.3% in the first half and improved to 40% by game’s end.
Pitt led 45-26 at halftime, thanks to 53.1% shooting from the field and 6-of-10 success from 3-point range. Indrusaitis and Dunning each had 10 points before the break. Georgia Tech’s starters managed a total of 14 first-half points as the team committed nine turnovers.
The Panthers were in control quickly, using a 12-0 run for a 10-point lead after four-plus minutes. An 11-2 spurt later stretched the margin to 18 as Dunning notched 10 of Pitt’s first 35 points.
Georgia Tech didn’t score in the final two minutes of the opening half and didn’t score in the first two minutes of the second half.
