Senior forward Blake Hinson scored 22 points, as the Panthers defeated Virginia Tech, 79-64, at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

It was a much-needed victory for Pitt that came just days after losing by 33 points at Wake Forest on Tuesday night.

After shooting just 29 percent from the floor against the Demon Deacons, the Panthers shot much better at home on Saturday, connecting on 50.9 percent of their shots from the floor. Pitt was successful on nine of its 21 three-point shots while making 12 of 18 attempts at the free-throw line.

It was a big day for freshman guard Jaland Lowe, who scored 18 points while adding six assists and two steals. Reserve guard Ishmael Leggett added 13 points in 32 minutes of action.

Pitt outrebounded the Hokies, 42-28. Junior forward Zack Austin led the way with 14 while also blocking five shots on the night.

The Panthers jumped out to leads of 7-0 and 22-16 in the first half, but Virginia Tech refused to go away early on, and the two teams headed into the locker room deadlocked at 36.

But it was mostly all Pitt over the final 20 minutes. After the Hokies took a 42-40 lead early in the second half, the Panthers went on an 18-0 run to take full command of the game.

The Panthers led by as many as 20 points down the stretch and cruised to an easy win.

The victory improves Pitt to 18-9, overall, and 9-7 in the ACC.

Next up for the Panthers is a big road game at Clemson this Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The Tigers are 19-8 and also 9-7 in conference play. Pitt has won five games on the road in the ACC this season–including upsets at Duke and Virginia. Pitt could find itself all alone in fifth place if it can win another huge game away from the Pete.

The Panthers are currently 46th in the Net Rankings and Quad Wins category. A victory over the Tigers, 24th in those rankings, would give Pitt a fourth Quad 1 victory on the year and could go a long way in securing an NCAA tournament berth.

Speaking of which, Pitt has four regular-season games remaining plus the ACC tournament. After Clemson, the Panthers head to Boston College on March 2, before finishing out their regular-season schedule with home games vs. Florida State and NC State.

If Pitt can finish the season 3-1, and one of those victories is against Clemson, that might impress the selection committee enough to earn a tournament bid. Otherwise, the Panthers might have to do some serious damage in the ACC tournament.

With that in mind, it would be in Pitt’s best interest to finish in fourth place in the conference and earn a bye into the third round of the tournament.