Jamel Artis and Michael Young Lead Pitt Past Boston College 71-65
By Brett Tunno
Feb 24, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers forward Michael Young (2) drives to the basket against Boston College Eagles center Dennis Clifford (24) during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Pittsburgh won 71-65. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Life on the NCAA Tournament Bubble is not easy.
ACC bottom feeder Boston College traveled to Pitt, looking for revenge of an earlier season overtime defeat.
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ACC-leading scorer, Eagles point guard Olivier Hanlan, tried his best at the upset, scoring a game-high 39 points, but Pitt showed resilience and hung on to win 71-65.
Pitt led by as much as 15 in the first half, but the Eagles cut it to 5 at halftime, and tied the game in the second half.
Particularly, sophomore forward Jamel Artis and Michael Young always had an answer when Boston College would cut the Pitt lead.
For Pitt (19-10, 8-7 ACC), Artis scored 24 points and 8 rebounds, Young scored 22 points and 9 rebounds, and senior guard Cameron Wright added 10 points and 2 steals.
For Boston College (9-18, 1-14 ACC), Hanlan scored 39 points and senior guard Aaron Brown scored 20 points. The rest of the team only scored a combined 6 points in the loss.
This was a must-win for Pitt, as a loss to a bad ACC team would have really placed Pitt in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament.
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Olivier Hanlan put on a display at the Pete, but he did battle foul trouble in the second half. At the game, his performance reminded me of last year’s loss at home to NC State when T.J. Warren scored over 40 points.
Despite a breakout game from a scorer, Pitt was able to hang on, which is a positive sign moving forward. Young and Artis combined for 46 of the 71 points, and Boston College had no answer for them.
In the first half, Pitt appeared poised to blow the game wide open, leading 35-20 with less than 3 minutes remaining.
Pitt missed some lay-ups, and Boston College went on a late 10-0 run with a pair of three-pointers to make it uneasy for Panther fans.
In the second half, after the Eagles tied it at 35, Artis and Young made key shots down the stretch, as well as making several free throws.
Pitt could not blow the game open again, as Hanlan or Brown always appeared to answer with a basket, but a win is a win.
Both teams shot approximately 47% and had 29 rebounds each. Pitt was 24 of 34 from the free throw line.
At this point in the season, Pitt needs to take it one game at a time. The next game will be Sunday night at Wake Forest, and this will likely be a tough test, as the Demon Deacons will be looking to seriously damage Pitt’s tournament chances.
On several “expert’s” bracketology pages, Pitt is on the First Four Out / Next Four Out line.
Buckle up for the ride.