Talib Zanna scored 21 points to lead Pittsburgh to a 66-59 victory over Boston College on Wednesday night at Conte Forum.
Olivier Hanlan hit 10-of-15 shots and scored 25 points for BC (7-21, 3-12 ACC). Patrick Heckmann hit 3-of-4 3-pointers and scored 15 points.
Lamar Patterson contributed 16 points and five assists for Pitt (21-7, 9-6), which outrebounded BC 32-18.
The Panthers led by nine at the break, 35-26, and scored the first five points of the second half to take a 14-point lead. BC used an 8-0 run to close the gap but could get no closer than four the rest of the way.
– In Amherst, Chaz Williams scored 16 points as UMass beat Rhode Island, 70-67.
Trey Davis added 13 points off the bench and Sampson Carter netted 11 for the Minutemen (22-5, 9-4 Atlantic-10), while Derrick Gordon contributed nine points and 10 rebounds.
Gilvydas Biruta scored 17 points and Xavier Munford added 16 for URI (12-17, 4-10).
UMass, which held a 41-28 advantage on the boards, had a one-point lead at the break and extended it to nine in the second half. URI battled back and took a 60-56 lead with 4:46 left after a three-point play by Jarrelle Reischel.
UMass then embarked on an 8-2 run, capped by two Cady Lalanne free throws that gave the Minutemen a 64-62 lead with 2:44 left. After two free throws from T.J. Buchanan tied the score, Gordon put UMass ahead for good on a layup with 1:36 remaining. E.C. Matthews made 1-of-2 from the line with just over a minute left to get the Rams within one.
After turnovers by both teams, Williams hit two free throws with 24 seconds left to put the Minutemen up three. After a URI miss, Davis hit two from the line with three seconds left for a five-point cushion. Matthews hit a layup at the buzzer to account for the final scoring.
– In West Point, N.Y., John Papale scored 19 points off the bench and sparked a second-half rally as Boston University edged Army, 71-70.
Maurice Watson Jr. added 16 points for the Terriers (21-9, 14-3 Patriot), who remain a game ahead of American in the league standings.
Kevin Ferguson had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Army (13-15, 9-8).
BU trailed by 10 at the half, 33-23, Papale’s 3-pointer keyed a 13-4 midway through the second half as the Terriers took control. Army used a late 7-2 run, fueled by five points from Kyle Wilson (15 points) to tie the game at 66 with two minutes remaining.
Watson put BU ahead to stay with a free throw with 1:30 left. Both teams then went cold until Watson was fouled and made two from the line with 21 seconds left. Dylan Cox hit two free throws for Army with 17 seconds left, but Papale answered with two of his own two seconds later.
Cox hit a layup with eight seconds left and, after a BU turnover, Army had a chance to win but Wilson’s jumper was off the mark and time ran out.
– In Baltimore, Malcolm Miller had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead Holy Cross to a 65-52 victory over Loyola (Md.).
Eric Green and Anthony Thompson added 12 points apiece for the Crusaders (10-18, 5-12), while Malachi Alexander contributed nine points and 10 rebounds.
Franz Rassman scored 15 points for Loyola (10-18, 5-12), which led by three at the half, 30-27, and was tied at 37 after a Rassman layup with 15:23 remaining. Both teams then went cold, with HC ending the drought first on a Green 3-pointer four minutes later that put the visitors ahead to stay. A Rassman 3-pointer at the midway point of the period got Loyola with a pair, but HC then went on an 8-1 run and never looked back.