GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Pitt survived. Pitt advanced.
An early second-half onslaught from No. 13-seeded Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament brought the No. 5 Panthers to a moment of truth.
Was Pitt going to find a way to rise above the wide range of struggles after losing its 13-point halftime lead? Or, was it going to fold and allow all of which had been built instantly wash away and, just as we saw Saturday at Miami, allow destiny to potentially slip through its fingertips again?
The Panthers did the former. An 18-6 margin in 5:19 to start the second half was later sealed off as the Panthers were able to keep a calm about them, resulting in an 89-81 victory Wednesday and a date with No. 4 Duke in the quarterfinal round Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Greensboro Coliseum. The win also solidifies Pitt's case as an NCAA Tournament team after it played back onto the bubble a week ago.
"I'm really proud, man, because we fought," Jeff Capel said. "We could have easily given in and put our heads down and things like that. But these guys showed who they have been all year, which is resilient, tough and together, and we were able to make some huge plays down the stretch. ... Really, really proud of my team, and really grateful to be able to play again tomorrow."
The Panthers turned the ball over five times in the opening 6:24 of the second half -- more than it did in the first half total -- and allowed their lead to vanish on a Miles Kelly layup and one with 12:55 remaining, which put Georgia Tech ahead 52-50.
But Pitt was able to matriculate the ball inside just as it did in the first half. The Panthers attempted just seven 3-pointers in the final 20 but found a way to break even with Georgia tech for 22 points in the paint in that half. Ja'von Franklin was relentless at times as he paced the Yellow Jackets with 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting to go with 15 rebounds.
"Second half they just got breakouts," Capel said. "I thought that was one of the things that happened. They were able to get out and transition off of our turnovers. ... That just led to them getting easy baskets. When you get easy baskets like that, your percentage is probably going to be a little bit higher."
Georgia Tech opened 2:45 of the second half on a 10-2 run to the tune of three Pitt turnovers. Capel called a timeout to regroup his team.
"He just told us to calm down, take care of the basketball," Jamarius Burton said. "We were making it easy on them, giving them transition points, allowing them to get out in transition. For us, we wanted to correct those things because we understood that's what makes them dangerous. That's what makes them dynamic. When we were able to do that, as the game went on, we were able to pull away."
Georgia Tech did more running than Pitt did offensively in scoring 19 transition points to Pitt's two.
But, Pitt was careful as to not get too overly emotional, as Capel hinted at following Pitt's loss at Miami Saturday. Pitt played with a certin fire in that second half, and it particularly came from Burton, who navigated the lane with a blend of the calmness of Nate Archibald and the swiftness of Joe Johnson. Burton posted 11 of his game-high 21 points as he made 5 of 7 from the field in the second half.
"I have a passion for winning," Burton said. "I don't play to play; I play to win. For me I just tried to give that off with my play and my voice out there on the floor for my teammates. I was able to do that today. I understood the magnitude of this game. I understand that it was win or go home. That's why you saw a little bit more passion out there than usual."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• The national food of Finland, per a vote back in 2017, is rye bread.
But, Federiko Federiko told me after the game he prefers the Swedish kebab pizza.
Whatever the dish, instead of saying Federiko cooked or burned through Georgia Tech's defense in the first half, we'll say he baked it to perfection.
Born in Egypt and raised in Helsinki, Federiko undoubtedly gave his Panthers a much-needed confidence boost within its inside game with his effort in the opening 20 minutes in Greensboro. Federiko began with 13 points on 5 of 5 converted field goals to go along with a 3-for-4 effort from the free-throw line and five rebounds in the opening 20.
Pitt made 12 of 17 attempts from inside the 3-point arc and held a 14-9 margin in defensive rebounding in the first half. Pitt assisted on 10 of its 16 made field goals while turning it over four times in the first half.
"I watched film with the coaches, and we knew that we got a size advantage," Federiko told me. "I knew that we had to start using it. Went to the basket, posted up, and scored."
Federiko ended the game with 19 points while going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and making 5 of 6 free throws. He grabbed eight rebounds.
• Blake Hinson (12 points) finished a rebound shy of a double-double.
• Greg Elliott shot himself out of his funk, at last. He entered Wednesday's game making 1 of 8 from the field overall and none of his five 3-pointers going back to a week ago at Notre Dame.
He made all four of his 3s Wednesday, including both of his 3-pointers plus a 4-for-4 effort on the free-throw line to total 10 second-half points, to post 16 points for the Panthers. All four free throws were made within the game's final 15 seconds.
"The grind hasn't changed," Elliott said. "Like I always told y'all, I was confident no matter what. My teammates had confidence in me. I just had to step up and shoot the shots when they passed me the ball and be ready to knock 'em down. ... It was an ocean after (the first one), in all honesty. I wasn't thinking about nothing else. Once I seen the first one go up and in, I felt like the rest of them were going to go up and in, too."
• Prior to tipoff, Panthers associate head coach Milan Brown was presented the Bob Bradley Spirit and Courage Award from the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association and the ACC. The award is given annually in memory of Bob Bradley, the former sports information director who served at Clemson from 1955 to 2000.
Last May, Brown suffered cardiac arrest as a result of an irregular heartbeat and collapsed on the concourse of the Petersen Events Center. He fell, hit his head, and lost consciousness. Panthers associate athletic director Amy Anderson helped administer CPR and had the help from women's basketball associate coach Terri Mitchell in using a defibrillator to help Brown's heart regain rhythm.
Brown stayed in the hospital for six days. There, he had an internal defibrillator implanted. He returned to full-time coaching last summer.
Pitt Athletics
Pitt associate head coach Milan Brown, center, receives the Bob Bradley Spirit and Courage Award from the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association and the ACC before Wednesday's game at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE 5s
• Georgia Tech: G Lance Terry, G Deebo Coleman, G Miles Kelly, G Kyle Sturdivant, F Ja'von Franklin.
• Pitt: G Nelly Cummings, G Greg Elliott, F Jamarius Burton, F Blake Hinson, C Federiko Federiko.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scores
• Schedule
• Standings
• Statistics
• ACC Tournament bracket
THE INJURIES
• Out for the season: F Will Jeffress (foot), F John Hugley IV (personal).
THE SCHEDULE
• The Panthers face No. 4 Duke in a quarterfinal game Thursday at 2:30 p.m. inside the Greensboro Coliseum. The winner of that game opposes the winner of No. 1 Miami and No. 9 Wake Forest in a semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday.
Pitt lost to Duke 77-69 in Durham, N.C. Jan. 11.
But ...
"Getting our get-back," Nelly Cummings said. "They beat us, so when a team beats us we're really excited to get our get-back on them."
I followed with Cummings: A little revenge on the mind, then?
"For sure."
THE CONTENT
• Visit the Pitt team page for more coverage from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.
