Pitt survives Boston College rally to secure first ACC victory

Late in the second half of Pitt’s 69-67 victory against Boston College, all 280 pounds of John Hugley crashed to the floor. Of course, he was fouled under the basket. That happened a lot Saturday.

Often sending defenders two at a time toward Pitt’s sophomore center, Boston College (6-7, 1-2 ACC) continually put him on the free-throw line. He made 15 of 20 shots from there, and Pitt needed nearly every one of them.

What looked like a potentially serious incident turned out to be nothing. Hugley quickly rose to his feet when he heard assistant coach Tim O’Toole shout, “John, get up. John, get up.”

Hugley did and continued to thrive in what teammate Jamarius Burton called his “dominant zone.”

Hugley finished with a career-high 32 points — nearly half of his team’s total — while helping Pitt (6-9, 1-3) win its first ACC game of the season.

While playing 37 minutes, Hugley became the fourth Pitt player since 2009 to record 30-plus points and 10-plus rebounds (13), joining Justin Champagnie last season and DeJuan Blair and Sam Young in ’09.

Hugley accepted praise for his effort with a shrug.

“It feels normal,” he said. “I scored 32, have to move on to Syracuse (Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome). It feels good stacking that win on the left side.”

Coach Jeff Capel admitted “37 minutes was probably a little bit too much.” But he knows what it takes for Pitt to win most games.

“We had to ride him,” he said.

“Whatever my team needs me to do,” Hugley said. “If playing 37 minutes is what it takes, that’s what it has to take. I didn’t even know I was out there for 37 minutes.”

Hugley said he was not surprised nor fazed by Boston College’s double teaming.

“I think I’m one of the better players in the ACC, and going against them, I feel they can’t stop me,” he said. “So, I’m going to keep attacking whoever steps on the floor. I’m going to see double teams for the rest of my career.”

While Pitt received 82.6% of its points from three players — Burton contributed 14 and Femi Odukale 11 — the Panthers needed some big plays late to secure the victory.

After losing five games by a total of 10 points in recent weeks, Pitt didn’t let this one get away.

Pitt scored its last nine points from the foul line, with Burton hitting 4 of 4, Odukale 2 of 2 and Hugley 3 of 4. Burton spent the summer concentrating on his free-throw technique, and his pecentage is at 90.4 (38 of 42).

Hugley’s last free throw bounced on the rim before falling into the cords with 4 seconds left.

That set the final, two-point margin of victory, and Makai Ashton-Langford’s off-balance layup didn’t come close while Pitt’s defense clamped down on him.

Capel was pleased Pitt made some plays around Hugley that mattered.

One of the biggest involved Burton taking a charge on Jaeden Zackery — a “big-time charge,” according to Capel — with the score tied at 64 and 1:17 remaining. Seconds later, Hugley hit two free throws to give Pitt a lead it never surrendered.

“We made some free throws. We were able to get a stop at the end of the game, a couple of stops at the end of the game,” Capel said.

He didn’t like the 3-pointer by Ashton-Langford that tied the score at 64.

“We have to be smarter,” he said.

Later, with 10 seconds left and Pitt up two, the Panthers were able to get the ball inbounds — something they couldn’t do in a loss to Virginia last month. That chewed up valuable seconds on the clock and led to Ashton-Langford’s desperation on the last shot.

Capel admitted Saturday was an emotional day, with criminal charges re-filed against junior guard Ithiel Horton hours before the game. He was proud that his players did not allow outside events to overwhelm them.

“I just saw a group that was focused on right now,” he said. “They were present in the moment of trying to win this basketball game and locking in on what we had to do to win this basketball game.”

“It’s hard to do,” Hugley said while mentioning he planned to reach out to Horton after the game. “But once you’re between those lines, that’s the only thing that matters and you have to tune everything else out.”