Pitt Basketball: Panthers Snap 3-Game Skid With Victory At Boston College
By Brett Tunno
Feb 23, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Coming off of a disappointing 71-66 home loss to Florida State on Sunday, the Pitt Panthers traveled to Boston College on Wednesday with hopes of ending a three-game losing streak.
Pitt was able to stop the bleeding for the moment, winning on the road 66-59.
It was Pitt’s first game against the Eagles since 2005. Losing five of their past seven games, and currently projected as a No. 10 seed in the Big Dance by Joe Lunardi, Pitt desperately needed a win and some confidence.
Though this win doesn’t boost Pitt’s tournament resume, it does provide some confidence which seemed to be lacking as of late.
Pitt (21-7, 9-6 ACC) shot an impressive 50 percent from the field (23 for 46), as well as beyond the arc (5 for 10), and outrebounded the Eagles 32-18. Boston College kept the game close by scoring 22 points off 17 Panthers turnovers.
Pitt senior center Talib Zanna scored 21 points and six rebounds, while senior guard Lamar Patterson scored 16 points (4 of 7 3-pointers), five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Cameron Wright also added 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting and six rebounds.
For Boston College (7-21, 3-12 ACC), sophomore guard Olivier Hanlan had a game-high 25 points, plus three steals and three assists. Junior guard Patrick Heckmann scored 15 points and four rebounds, and junior forward Ryan Anderson added 10 points and five rebounds.
With less than nine minutes remaining, Boston College cut the Pitt lead to four at 49-45 as Heckmann knocked down a pair of 3s. Pitt and Boston College exchanged buckets, but the Eagles could not get closer than four points, and Pitt was able snap their losing streak.
Boston College jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, followed by a 7-0 Pitt run. Patterson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and freshmen forward Jamel Artis added another en route to a 12-0 burst and a 23-11 lead.
In the first half, Zanna was the high scorer for Pitt with nine points, while Patterson and Wright each added eight. For Boston College, Hanlan lead all scorers with 14 points and three steals.
Pitt outscored the Eagles 12-0 in second chance points, and Pitt went into the half leading 35-26. Pitt shot 56 percent but committed eight turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Pitt jumped out of the second half with back-to-back buckets, including a Patterson 3-pointer to extend their nine-point lead to 14. However, the Eagles went on a 8-0 run to cut the Pitt lead to 42-37 with about 15 minutes left.
Zanna knocked down a late free throw to record his 1,000th career point.
Pitt will travel to Notre Dame on Saturday, and Boston College will head to Wake Forest on Saturday.
Brett is a staff writer for City of Champions. Follow him on Twitter.