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No. 20 Pittsburgh rolls by Boston College 84-61
PITTSBURGH (AP) Jamel Artis scored 22 points and No. 20 Pittsburgh recovered from a forgettable loss at No. 21 Louisville by pulling away from struggling Boston College 84-61 on Saturday.
Michael Young added 13 points, five rebounds and nine assists for the Panthers (15-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Cameron Johnson scored a career-high 17 points off the bench for Pitt, which shut down the Eagles (7-10, 0-4) in the second half.
Eli Carter scored a career-high 31 for Boston College but received little help from his teammates. Carter made 12 of 22 shots, including 5 of 11 3-point attempts. The rest of the Eagles scored just 30 points on 11-of-26 shooting.
A 3-pointer by Carter drew Boston College within 62-51 with 10 minutes to play but the Eagles would get no closer while dropping their fourth straight.
The Panthers were pushed in a 59-41 setback against the Cardinals on Thursday. Pitt's 10-game winning streak came to a crashing halt in 40 miserable minutes in which it made just 14 shots while turning it over a season-high 19 times.
The Eagles figured to provide a chance for Pitt to bounce back. Boston College lost its first three games of a brutal January schedule by an average of 22 points, including a 62-40 loss to Syracuse on Wednesday in which the Eagles managed all of 15 points in the first half.
While Pitt was decidedly better at home against a team picked to finish last in the ACC, the Panthers still had trouble holding onto the ball early and Carter basically kept the Eagles in the game. The graduate transfer scored 18 points in the opening half, including four 3-pointers. A late surge fueled by Young allowed Pitt to take a 43-36 halftime lead, the forgettable performance in Louisville firmly in the rearview mirror.
Pitt coach Jamie Dixon pointed to the game as a chance for his players to show their resiliency after Louisville had its way against the ACC's second-highest scoring team. The Panthers have remade themselves into one of the league's most explosive clubs behind the steady play of Artis, Young and point guard James Robinson.
That selflessness showed in the second half. Having Johnson play easily the best game of his brief career helped. The skinny redshirt freshman drilled four 3-pointers but also added a dunk during a 13-4 surge late in the second half that gave the Panthers all the breathing room they needed to avoid their first losing streak of the season.
TIP-INS
Boston College: The Eagles fell to 0-3 in true road games. ... Boston College scored the game's first seven points but never led over the final 32 minutes.
Pitt: The Panthers, who lead the nation in free throw percentage, shot 8 of 11 (72 percent) at the line. ... Pitt outrebounded Boston College 34-17. ... The Panthers finished with 23 assists on 33 made shots. ... Pitt has won each of its last 10 meetings with Boston College.
UP NEXT
Boston College: hosts No. 8 Miami on Wednesday
Pitt: hosts North Carolina State on Tuesday.
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AP's college basketball site: http://collegebasketball.ap.org
