Surging Pitt pulls away in second half, downs Georgia Tech

Nelly Cummings scored 22 points to lead Pitt to a 76-68 victory over visiting Georgia Tech in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Tuesday.

Cummings shot 6 of 12 from the field, including 3 of 9 from 3-point range, to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Blake Hinson hit 7 of 13 shots from the floor, including 5 of 9 from beyond the arc, to finish with 19 points and six rebounds.

Pitt's Federiko Federiko added 14 points and seven rebounds before fouling out, while Jamarius Burton chipped in 12 points.

The Panthers (20-8, 13-4 ACC) posted their first 20-win season since going 21-12 during the 2015-2016 season, the last time they advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Pittsburgh, which won for the seventh time in its past eight games, shot 24 of 51 (47.1 percent) from the field, including 9 of 24 (37.5 percent) from 3-point range.

The Panthers outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 34-24 and went 19 of 20 from the free-throw line, led by Federiko (8 of 8) and Cummings (7 of 7).

Georgia Tech (11-17, 3-14) was led by Miles Kelly, who hit a career-high six 3-pointers in 13 attempts to finish with a career-best 24 points to go along with five rebounds.

Ja'von Franklin chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists, with Kyle Sturdivant finishing with 16 points and five assists for the Yellow Jackets, who saw a two-game winning streak come to an end.

The Yellow Jackets shot 26 of 55 (47.3 percent) from the field, including 9 of 28 (32.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Yellow Jackets struggled without point guard Deivon Smith (ankle), who averages 8.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Georgia Tech used just seven players and only five scored, with Lance Terry fouling out in just 15 minutes after going 0-for-4 from the field. Freds Pauls Bagatskis logged less than a minute on the court.

After Kelly's two free throws gave Georgia Tech a 52-51 edge with 9:31 remaining, the Panthers responded with an 11-4 run to take a 62-56 lead they wouldn't relinquish following Hinson's layup with 4:43 to play.

Hinson's 3-pointer extended Pitt's advantage to 70-62 with 1:42 left.

After Cummings' 3-pointer gave Pitt a 15-7 lead with 13:48 left in the first half, Georgia Tech chipped away and pulled to within 33-32 at the break.