PITTSBURGH — Keyshawn Woods made two free throws with 15 seconds left Wednesday night as Wake Forest kept Pittsburgh winless in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 63-57 win at Peterson Events Center.
Four players finished in double figures for the Demon Deacons (11-17, 4-12 ACC), led by a game-high 14 points from Bryant Crawford. Center Doral Moore added 13 points and nine rebounds, while Mitchell Wilbekin scored 12 points, including two foul shots with nine seconds remaining. Woods chipped in 11 points.
Jared Wilson-Frame and Marcus Carr each scored 11 points for the Panthers (8-21, 0-16). Shamiel Stevenson tallied 10.
Neither team made more than 40 percent of their field-goal attempts in a game befitting teams that are a combined 4-28 in the ACC. However, Wake Forest was perfect at the foul line in the second half, making all 15 of its attempts. That included six in a row over the final 26 seconds to seal the outcome.
Pittsburgh shot just 36.5 percent from the field, relying largely on 3-pointers. The Panthers were 10 of 30 from beyond the arc but were outrebounded 38-30, getting just six offensive boards.
Wake Forest and Pittsburgh clanged their way through an ugly first half. It was 5-2 Panthers at the first TV timeout and 8-8 just under eight minutes into the contest before both teams found a little rhythm.
Pittsburgh took a 16-10 lead with 9:36 left in the half when Jonathan Milligan buried a jumper to cap a 10-2 run, but the Demon Deacons responded with a 9-2 spurt. Childress finished it with two free throws at the 5:39 mark to give Wake Forest a 19-18 edge.
After a Wilbekin 3-pointer upped the Deacons’ lead to 25-20, the Panthers finished the half on an 8-2 run. A Stevenson layup with 44 seconds left in the half gave Pittsburgh a 28-27 edge at intermission.
