Panthers clip Eagles wings: win 77-58

PITTSBURGH- Led by 21 points (6-11 3FG) from Blake Hinson and eight assists from Nelly Cummings, the Pittsburgh Panthers beat Boston College by a score of 77-58. It’s a win that pushes the Panthers to 19-7 (12-3 ACC) and keeps them atop the ACC in a season that continues to exceed expectations. Each starter reached double figures and Pitt went 11-25 from three, an all-around dominant effort. With this win, the Panthers extend their win streak to six games.

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FIRST HALF RECAP:

The Panthers got ahead early on a nice bit of postwork from Federiko Federiko, but that was just the beginning of the post-battle that would highlight the beginning of this contest. Boston College seemed content in the first few minutes to center an offense entirely around attacking Federiko Federiko down low with Eagles’ leading scorer F Quentin Post.

Post struggled to score when hit with sustained pressure, but with the focus on him, the Panthers suffered elsewhere. Pitt surrendered an 11-0 run going into the under-12 media timeout. With the focus on stopping paint touches the Eagles turned to the outside shot, going 5-13 from deep in an uncharacteristic performance from a team that averages just 5.4 3 PM per game.

Pitt looked out of sorts on offense early, coughing it up four times over the span of five minutes. With Boston College up 16-10, the Panthers looked like they needed an injection of energy on a sleepy Tuesday night.

Nelly Cummings proved to be just that, scoring six points and adding an assist on a Blake Hinson corner three to revitalize the Panther offense and crawl back into the contest.

Following a Greg Elliott three to push the Panthers back in front 29-26 things got a little heated. With Quentin Post going to the ground after a post-battle with Federiko, Elliott stepped vaguely near his head, which was perceived as an AI and Tyron Lue-esque move by the Eagle forward, who grabbed his leg, prompting Elliott to kick out. Both were assessed technicals, and Post headed to the bench with two fouls he had accumulated in a matter of seconds.

With the Eagle’s best player off the floor for a sustained period of time the Panthers took their largest lead of the night into half, leading 40-31 on the back of 14 points from Blake Hinson.

SECOND HALF RECAP:

With Post back on the court Boston College looked a bit more like themselves to begin the second half, starting on an 8-4 run.

Pitt would have none of that, ripping off a 10-0 run to truly blow the game open. Boston College could get nothing going against a staunch Panthers defense that came into the second half much more polished than in the first.

The reality is, when you miss 13 shots in a row from the field, you’re going to have a bad time. With Quentin Post unable to generate anything, the Eagles lacked intent or identity, and what was a strong first 10-minute showing proved to be only that as a superior Pitt team ran away with the contest.

Greg Elliot added six on two three-pointers in a strong second-half performance, playing with a little added competitive intensity following his first-half scuffle.

Quentin Post would only make it to the 3:30 mark in this contest, fouling out and quickly making his way to the bench to avoid the heckling of the Oakland Zoo. Post could only put together 7 points on 2-9 shooting, and adding four turnovers for good measure.

It was a testament to the work of Federiko Federiko, as the Panther forward completely eliminated any impact that the big man could’ve had.

It was a nearly thirty-minute demolition by the Panthers, a win that keeps Pitt atop the ACC standings as we grow nearer to March. With Nike Sibande dribbling out the clock, the Panthers sent Boston College back to Massachusetts with a 77-58 loss. With this win, Pitt improves their record to 19-7 (12-3 ACC) sneaking ever closer to that elusive NCAA tournament bid.

WHAT IS NEXT:

Pitt is on the road for a matchup against Virginia Tech this Saturday at 5 PM.