Boston College Athletics
Men's Hoops Falls to Big East Rival Pittsburgh
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
January 10, 1999
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh opened a 26-point lead in the first half behind the 3-point shooting of Vonteego Cummings and Jarrett Lockhart and defeated Boston College 86-70 Sunday for its first Big East victory this season.
Cummings scored 19 points, Ricardo Greer had 17 and Lockhart added 16 as Pittsburgh (9-6, 1-4) survived a 10-minute second-half stretch in which it scored only one basket to stop a seven-game conference losing streak.
The Panthers lost their final three Big East games last season, then started 0-4 this season. They had beaten only Prairie View and Howard in eight games since upsetting defending national champion Kentucky on Nov. 27, a slump that prompted coach Ralph Willard to practice his team twice on New Year's Eve.
Michael Cotton scored 24 points and Willie Deane had all 17 of his points during a second-half comeback as Boston College (3-10, 0-5) cut Pitt's lead from 41-15 to 78-69 before losing its eighth in nine games.
Isaac Hawkins added 16 points and Attila Cosby had 10 as all five Pitt starters finished in double figures for the first time this season.
Pitt, which usually relies on its backcourt for scoring, instead went inside to Greer and Cosby against the youthful Eagles to quickly open leads of 13-4 and 17-6. Five of Boston College's top nine players are freshmen.
Cummings and Lockhart then hit three 3-pointers each as Pitt made six 3-pointers in a span of seven possessions during a 24-4 run that made it 41-15 with 4:18 remaining in the first half.
The lead was big enough to allow Pittsburgh, which doesn't play again until Saturday at No. 1 Connecticut, to win despite making only six field goals in the second half. The Panthers were 25-of-28 at the foul line in the second half and 32-of-35 overall, with Hawkins making 10-of-11.
Boston College shot only 27.3 percent in the first half and 36.2 overall (25-of-69).
