PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Struggling with losses in nine of the last 11 games, Pitt jumped on Boston College early for a 93-67 win on Senior Day Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.
After 6:38 elapsed in the first half the Panthers lead reached double figures, with five minutes to play in the first half the lead was 20 and it grew to 29 by halftime. They did all of this with leading scorer Jaland Lowe taking two shots and scoring four points. Panthers didn’t shoot the lights out, but controlled the glass, had 10 assists on 14 field goals and held BC to 1-11 shooting from three.
Even when BC trimmed the lead to 21 with 12:58 to play in the game, Pitt immediately went on a 6-0 run as the game was never in doubt in the second half. Overall Pitt shot 50% from the floor to 43% for BC. Pitt was 12-30 from 3, while Boston College was 5-25. The Panthers had 21 assists on 30 made field goals.
“Everybody was locked in, everybody was into it,” said freshman Brandin Cummings. “Obviously, Senior Night, so I think we were playing for a little bit more.”
“Really happy for our guys that we were able to win and have a performance like this,” said Pitt head coach Jeff Capel. “I thought we did a great job of sharing the basketball. I thought we defended really well in the first half. We really did a really good job of sharing and moving the basketball.
Then it was great to make some shots. We haven’t made shots in a really long time from two or from three. It was good to see the ball go in the basket.”
Four in double figures
· Cam Corhen 16 points (7-10 field goals)
· Brandin Cummings 16 points (3-7, 3-pointers), 5 assists
· Jaland Lowe 15 points, 10 assists, 1 turnover
· Ishmael Leggett 14 points, 8 rebounds
Senior Vason Stevenson from McKees Rocks, PA got his first career points in his last game, making a pair of free throws as the bench erupted. It erupted again when redshirt freshman Marlon Barnes had his first career field goal, a three in the corner with just over a minute to play.
“You got to be part of a team to understand something like that,” Lowe said. “Seeing somebody that doesn’t get the opportunity that much be able to get out there and do something to help them and help the team. That is amazing. Super-proud of those guys. They come and work every day, no matter what.”
Pitt held the advantage in several categories
· +8 rebounds
· +9 points off turnovers
· +7 second chance points
· +12 fast break points
· It was Pitt’s largest margin of victory in conference play
“Very solid, kind of tapped into the energy we had early in the season,” Cummings said. “This is the perfect time to tap into it heading into the ACC Tournament.”
Finishing 8-12 in the ACC, 17-14 overall, Pitt is the 13-seed and will play Notre Dame Tuesday at 2p on 93.7 The Fan in the opening game of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte.
“I don’t think I got to tell anybody how to get more locked in that this,” Lowe said. “This is the end of the season. This is all we got now. We didn’t have the season we wanted to have, so we tried to end tonight on the right note, knowing how we need to play going into this Tournament. I don’t have to tell anybody to lock in, they know what it is.”