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Pittsburgh 76, Boston College 62

Posted: Friday March 08, 2002 01:04 AM

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NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Pittsburgh accomplished step one of its mission.

Donatas Zavackas scored 16 points and Brandin Knight added 13 as the seventh-ranked Panthers ousted defending champion Boston College with a thorough 76-62 victory in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

Pittsburgh (26-4) won its eighth straight game and advanced to face Miami in Fridays semifinals. The Panthers are in the semifinals for the second straight season.

Miami advanced with an 84-76 overtime victory over Georgetown.

Panthers coach Ben Howland, the Big East Coach of the Year, openly stated he wanted to win this tournament as opposed to other coaches, like Connecticuts Jim Calhoun, who said he wanted his team to prepare for the NCAA Tournament.

It showed as Howlands team turned in a complete effort in a rematch of last years title game.

"It was a very good win for us," Howland said. "Theyre a good team, defending champions. As long as we keep that focus, this team can continue to win a game at a time." Knight, the Big East co-Player of the Year, also had six assists for Pittsburgh and helped limit the Eagles Troy Bell to 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting.

"For us, we got to the championship game last year," Knight said. "It was disappointing to lose. We dont want to be in that position again." Boston College (20-11) actually came out strong and matched its largest lead at 14-6 on two free throws by Bell with just under 13 minutes left in the first half.

Ryan Sidneys driving layup gave the Eagles a 20-15 lead before Pittsburgh took command with a 15-0 run.

Zavackas drained a 3-pointer to start the burst and Chad Johnsons jumper tied it. Zavackas gave Pitt the lead for good with a 3-pointer and Knight finished the run with a 3-pointer of his own for a 30-20 advantage with 2:13 remaining.

In the second half, Pitt received a huge boost from freshman Chevon Troutman, who scored 13 of his 15 points over the final 20 minutes. The Panthers lead grew to as many as 23 points on a reverse layup by Julius Page with 5:27 left.

Pitt pounded BC on the glass to the tune of a 40-24 advantage. Jaron Brown had seven rebounds and Troutman added six. Led by Troutman, the Panthers reserves outscored the Eagles', 28-5.

"Weve got a lot of good inside players," Page said. "They all bring something to the team. As long as we play as a team, as weve been doing all year long, I think we can go as far as we want to go." Uka Agbai, a native of Queens, led Boston College with 25 points. Ryan Sidney netted 14, but the Eagles could not overcome Bells struggles.

"I think theyre very solid and theyre very consistent with what theyre trying to do defensively," BC coach Al Skinner said. "They are constantly talking to each other on what theyre trying to do on the floor." Despite the loss, Skinner maintained that his team deserves an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles were just 8-8 in Big East play, including two losses to St. Johns and a loss to Virginia Tech, the last-place team in the East Division.

"Our RPI is pretty good," he said. "Weve got some good wins. We attempted to schedule better out of our league. It just didnt work out." "We played Penn State, who went to the Sweet Sixteen, Iowa State, Michigan. Unfortunately, they didnt have good years. .