Golden Eagles stun No. 6 Panthers
First Connecticut. Then Louisville. Now Pittsburgh.
Perhaps the Marquette Golden Eagles should consider changing their nickname to Road Warriors.
Dominic James’ two free throws with 0.9 of a second left in overtime propelled No. 24 Marquette to a thrilling 77-74 victory over the sixth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday afternoon in front of a stunned crowd of 12,508 at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
The victory was the fourth straight for the Golden Eagles (17-4, 4-2) after starting 0-2 in the Big East and third straight on the road. For the Panthers (17-3, 5-1), it was their first loss this season in 13 home games.
“I think it gives us a great deal of confidence,” Wesley Matthews said. “It’s tough to win any given night in this conference.”
MU trailed 74-73 and had the basketball after calling a timeout with 12.8 seconds left in overtime. James got the basketball as time wound down and drove the lane, drawing a foul on Aaron Gray with 0.9 left on the clock.
After a Pittsburgh timeout, James – who was 5 for 6 from the line to that point – stepped up and calmly drained both. Pittsburgh turned the ball over on the inbounds play and quickly fouled Matthews, who knocked down two more free throws for the final margin of victory.
“Me and Jerel (McNeal) were talking about ice water,” said James, relating a conversation in practice between the two earlier in the week that dealt with the subject of late-game free throws.
“That’s the only thing that was going through my head: ice water. Got to knock them down. Big-time players make big plays at certain times. That was the only thing I was thinking about.”
(20) Notre Dame 82, South Florida 58: At South Bend, Ind., Rob Kurz had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Colin Falls added 14 points to lead the Irish (16-3, 4-2 Big East) to a victory over the Bulls (10-10, 1-5).
(23) Virginia Tech 67, Maryland 64 (OT): At Blacksburg, Va., Zabian Dowdell scored four of his 19 points in overtime and the Hokies (14-5, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied after blowing an eight-point lead late in regulation to beat the Terrapins (15-5, 1-4) and improve to 10-0 at home this season.