Boston College, eager to build on first ACC win, takes on Pitt
Boston College is hoping to turn one win into something more.
After an 81-73 overtime win over Syracuse last Saturday, the Eagles (8-10, 1-4 ACC) look to win their second straight in Atlantic Coast Conference play when Pitt (8-10, 1-4) pays a visit Wednesday night to Chestnut Hill, Mass.
"It feels good," Boston College coach Earl Grant said of the victory. "The one thing about this league is that there's a fight on every corner, so there isn't one (game) ... we can circle as an easy win. You have to battle every night, and that's what we signed up for."
The Eagles certainly battled against Syracuse, using a 3-pointer from Donald Hand Jr. in the waning seconds of regulation to get to overtime, where they outscored the Orange 17-9.
Fred Payne has been a huge piece to Boston College's recent success, scoring at least 20 points in four straight games. He had a season-high 26 points, six assists and three steals against Syracuse, helping the Eagles turn the tables from three previous overtime losses this season.
"I feel amazing because we worked so hard for this. We've been losing (late and) in overtime, over and over and over, and we finally got one," Payne said.
The Panthers faced their first ranked opponent of the season Saturday in a 100-59 loss to then-No. 20 Louisville, which hit 11 3-pointers in the first half and led by 31 at intermission. It was a tough follow-up from their 89-66 win at Georgia Tech last week.
Pitt did show some life later, shooting 46.4% after halftime. However, it was no match after Louisville's incredible start.
In the second half, "the ball moved, we shared it, we cut harder, and then we were able to make some shots, but we were never in anything that we wanted to do defensively for 40 minutes," Pitt coach Jeff Capel said.
Brandin Cummings led Pitt with 11 points against Louisville, marking his third straight game scoring in double figures. Barry Dunning Jr. had nine to go along with a team-high six rebounds.
After what Capel called an "embarrassing" performance, all Pitt can do now is move forward.
"We've had some bad losses since I've been here. We got to get back to work," he said. "We've been okay on the road, hopefully we can be good at BC."