Leggett scores season-high 30 points to lead Pitt over Wake Forest 81-69 in ACC Tournament
Pittsburgh guard Ishmael Leggett, right, places a decal on the bracket after an NCAA college basketball game against Wake Forest in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Washington. Credit: AP/Susan Walsh
WASHINGTON — Ishmael Leggett scored 19 of his season-high 30 points in the second half and Pittsburgh turned away Wake Forest 81-69 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
Friday, the fourth-seeded Panthers (22-10) will face top seed and No. 4-ranked North Carolina, a 92-67 winner over ninth-seeded Florida State earlier Thursday. UNC beat Pitt 70-57 in their only regular-season meeting on Jan. 2.
Leggett was 11-of-18 shooting, repeatedly driving hard to the hoop, and collected eight rebounds and five steals. Blake Hinson hit four 3-pointers and added 20 points with Jaland Lowe adding 11 points and five assists. The Pitt bench outscored Wake Forest's 39-0.
Cameron Hildreth led the fifth-seeded Demon Deacons (20-13) with 23 points. Hunter Sallis added 15 points, Andrew Carr 13 and Efton Reid III 12.
A 12-1 run over three minutes that Leggett kicked off with a 3-pointer gave the Panthers a 19-point lead with 13 minutes remaining.
Sallis hit consecutive 3-pointers and Hildreth added a three-point play to get the Demon Deacons back with eight midway through the half. A 3 by Hildreth cut the lead to four with 5 1/2 minutes remaining. The Deacons stayed within reach until Pitt went on a 10-2 game-ending run in the final two minutes, kicked off by a bucket underneath by Guillermo Diaz Graham and a Leggett drive.
Hinson scored five points and Leggett four in a 13-2 run that put Pitt ahead by 11 with nine minutes left in the half and the Panthers led 38-26 at the break.
Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel and Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes meet after an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Washington. Pittsburgh won 81-69. Credit: AP/Susan Walsh
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