Massoud scores 31 with 8 3s, Wake Forest beats Pitt 76-75
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- — 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.
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) never led 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.
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.
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.
------
Game Information
- Referees:
- Mark Schnur
- Bert Smith
- A.J. Desai
2023-24 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
North Carolina | 17-3 | - | 29-8 |
Duke | 15-5 | 2 | 27-9 |
Virginia | 13-7 | 4 | 23-11 |
Pittsburgh | 12-8 | 5 | 22-11 |
Clemson | 11-9 | 6 | 24-12 |
Syracuse | 11-9 | 6 | 20-12 |
Wake Forest | 11-9 | 6 | 21-14 |
Virginia Tech | 10-10 | 7 | 19-15 |
Florida State | 10-10 | 7 | 17-16 |
NC State | 9-11 | 8 | 26-15 |
Boston College | 8-12 | 9 | 20-16 |
Georgia Tech | 7-13 | 10 | 14-18 |
Notre Dame | 7-13 | 10 | 13-20 |
Miami | 6-14 | 11 | 15-17 |
Louisville | 3-17 | 14 | 8-24 |