Field Level Media
Feb 8, 2020
Freshman Justin Champagnie scored a career-high 30 points and Pittsburgh won its fourth straight home game, beating Georgia Tech 73-64 on Saturday in ACC play.
Champagnie was 12 of 17 from the floor and added nine rebounds. The Brooklyn native scored four points in the 8-0 run in the final three minutes that broke the game open. Champagnie scored 20-plus points for the second straight game and for the fifth time this season.
Pitt (15-9, 6-7 ACC) also got 14 points and nine assists from Trey McGowens and 11 points and seven assists from Xavier Johnson, his 17th time to score in double figures.
The win allowed the Panthers to surpass last season's win total of 14 and broke a two-game losing streak to Georgia Tech.
Georgia Tech (11-13, 5-8) was led by Michael Devoe with 22 points and seven assists, but the sophomore had eight turnovers. Moses Wright added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Turnovers were again a problem for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets gave it up 22 times, which led to 20 Pitt points.
Georgia Tech had an early advantage and used back-to-back 3-pointers from Jordan Usher and Devoe to spark a 10-2 run. But Pitt tied the game 14-14 on a jumper by Terrell Brown with 8:20 left, part of a 9-0 run that gave Pitt a three-point lead.
The Panthers led 23-16 on a pair of Brown free throws with 4:26 left. Georgia Tech cut the deficit to one on a short jumper by Wright, but Champagnie made his first 3 with eight seconds remaining to give Pitt a 28-24 halftime lead.
Pitt took its largest lead of the game when Toney scored on a layup with 10:32 to make it 50-41. But Georgia Tech answered with a 11-2 run and tied the game on Devoe's 3-pointer with 7:14 left.
Pitt responded with a 3-pointer from McGowens and a jumper from Johnson to regain and the five-point lead. It was part of an 11-3 run that put the game away.
Both teams play again Wednesday. Georgia Tech will host Louisville and Pitt will host Clemson.
--Field Level Media