Massoud nails 8 3-pointers on way to 31 points as Wake Forest edges Pitt
Published 12:00 am Sunday, January 24, 2021
- Photo courtesy of ACC — Wake Forest’s Ismael Massoud fires a 3-pointer in front of Pitt’s Justin Champagnie on his way to a career-high 31 points.
Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM. — Ismael Massoud had a career-high 31 points and made 8 of 10 from 3-point range, Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes earned the first ACC win of his coaching career, and the Demon Deacons beat Pittsburgh 76-75 on Saturday.
The Panthers had a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to one and forced a turnover with 5.3 seconds left that gave them an inbounds play from the frontcourt sideline, but Xavier Johnson missed a pull-up jumper and Wake Forest’s Ody Oguama grabbed the rebound just before time expired. Johnson had 14 points and eight assists.
Massoud’s eight 3s tied for third best in program history (Craig Dawson 11, 2002; Randolph Childress 9, 1995). Childress is currently an assistant coach for Wake Forest.
Massoud made all five of his 3-point attempts in the first half and his final 3-pointer gave the Demon Deacons their largest lead at 75-65 with 4:49 left. Massoud, whose previous career high was 17 points, had a scoreless night in Wednesday’s 80-73 loss to North Carolina.
The Demon Deacons (4-6, 1-6) didn’t take the lead until Jonah Antonio made it 60-57 with 9:45 left on the second of his three straight 3-pointers. Those 3s came late in Wake Forest’s 26-5 run that ended at 66-57 with 8:17 to go.
Antonio finished with 15 points and Jalen Johnson added 10 points.
Pitt (8-3, 4-2) was coming into the game with a three-game winning streak including back-to-back wins over Syracuse and a 79-73 win over Duke on Tuesday.
Justin Champagnie had 17 points, eight rebounds and a career-high five steals for Pitt. Abdoul Karim Coulibaly added 15 points, and Au’Diese Toney scored 11.
