During a media timeout with 7:49 left to play, the Petersen Events Center speakers blared the hit song "HandClap" by Fitz and The Tantrums.
"Need to believe you could hold me down, 'cause I'm in need of something good right now," the lyrics went. "We could be screaming till the sun comes out, and when we wake we'd be the only sound."
Coincidental as they were, prescient words for the scene that was unfolding early Saturday evening as Pitt tried to avoid letting a big lead evaporate entirely against 17th-ranked Florida State.
But just when it seemed the Panthers were in for another maddening loss plagued by inconsistency that has dumbfounded coach Kevin Stallings, they pulled through and showed once again that on their best days, they can play with just about anyone.
Saturday was one of those days, with Sheldon Jeter leading the way.
Jeter scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Jamel Artis had 16 points and Michael Young added 11 as Pitt upset Florida State, 80-66, to bounce back from Tuesday night's disheartening loss to Virginia Tech.
In a throwback game when Pitt wore its retro blue-and-yellow uniforms, it was something of a throwback performance. Jeter missed just two shots, finishing 12 of 14 from the floor and 4 of 5 from behind the arc.
Pitt went on a 17-4 run early in the second half, but the Panthers (15-12, 4-10 ACC) had trouble keeping the loaded Seminoles (21-6, 9-5) at bay the rest of the way. After leading, 58-43, with 13:14 left, Pitt let Florida State get to within 64-62 with 6:19 to play.
But that was as close as it would become, with the Panthers mounting a 14-2 run to shut the door on a Seminoles team that has now lost two in a row after a three-game winning streak. As the final minute of play approached, a bustling, royal blue-clad Oakland Zoo chanted "Sheldon Jeter!" to applaud the senior from Beaver Falls' career day.
The Panthers played a more than spirited first half to set the tone, going toe to toe with the much bigger Seminoles for the first 20 minutes and even taking control entering the break.
Pitt took a 41-37 advantage into halftime, the third consecutive game the Panthers have led at intermission. Stallings extended his usually tight rotation, deploying 10 players, with all but two find their way into the scoring column.
Florida State managed to shoot 60 percent from the floor in the first half, but just one turnover by the Panthers kept them very much in a groove of their own offensively.
They finished 26 of 51 from the floor, 10 of 22 from 3-point range and 18 of 22 from the free-throw line for a percentage line of 51, 45, 82. Factor in that the Panthers committed just eight turnovers by the end of it, and that was a recipe for success against a Florida State team that used its otherworldly size to score 38 points in the paint.
The Panthers held Florida State star Dwayne Bacon scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting and the Seminoles were just 5 of 18 on 3-pointers, 9 of 15 from the free-throw line.
Pitt is back in action Wednesday night on the road at Wake Forest (15-12, 6-9).
