March 4, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Robert McCray V. (6) drives toward the basket against Pittsburgh Panthers guard Omari Witherspoon (8) during the first half at Peterson Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Florida State got off to a hot start and escaped with its life Wednesday night, escaping with a 75-74 win over host Pitt.
Chauncey Wiggins and Raje Jones each scored 18 points and combined for 7 3-pointers. Robert McCray V added 14 points, six rebounds and six assists, hitting a pair of clutch free throws late for the Seminoles (16-14, 9-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won their fifth straight road game.
Florida State has won five straight ACC road games, joining the 1991-92 team for only the second time in program history.
The Seminoles started the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 54-30 lead with 18:06 remaining and appeared to be on their way to a comfortable victory.
But the Panthers got back in the game thanks to an incredible individual effort from senior Barry Dunning Jr., who scored 18 of his season-high 26 points after halftime in Pitt’s final home game.
Florida State looked poised to survive when a Jones three broke a four-minute scoring drought to give FSU a 71-63 lead with 52 seconds left.
But the Panthers responded with an 8-2 run and Damarco Minor hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to make the game 73-71.
McRae made two free throws with 5 seconds left, but Minor made three more free throws with 1 second left to make it a 1-point game. Florida State got the inbound, allowing the Seminoles to hold on.
Dunning added 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double for the Panthers (11-19, 4-13), who finished 2-7 in ACC home games. Cameron Cohen, playing against his former team at Pitt, had 14 points and six boards, while Minor had 10 points and 10 assists for his first double-double of the season.
The first half was a sharp contrast in shooting, with the Seminoles shooting 60.7% (17 of 28) from the field and 8 of 14 (57.1%) on 3-pointers, while Pitt made just 32.3% of their shots (10 of 31) and 1 of 12 (8.3%) from outside.
Florida State finished the first half on a 17-8 run to take a 46-30 lead before Cam Miles hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The second half was a turnaround with Pitt shooting 50 percent from the floor and 53.3 percent from beyond the arc, while Florida State made just 36.7 percent of its shots and 3 of 13 from 3 (23.1 percent).
–Field level media
