Duquesne shocks Pitt in City Game, 64-55
offensively beyond a series of spurts, neither the Dukes nor the Panthers shot better than 40 percent, with the latter missing 40 of their 60 shots. They also missed 19 of their 22 3-pointers.
Pitt’s offensive struggles were explicable, to an extent.
The Panthers played without guard Jamel Artis, the second-leading scorer in the ACC at 19.7 points per game, because of a one-game suspension for what coach Kevin Stallings described as a failure “to meet our high standards.”
With Artis on the bench in a gray sweatsuit, Young scored a team-high 19, but made just eight of his 21 shots, often shouldering much of the offensive responsibility on an alreadythin team that was noticeably shorthanded.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Stallings walked slowly down the bench, staring down Artis much of the way. The lesson he had hoped to teach Artis by sitting him for one of the team’s more high-profile games came with what was perhaps an unintended consequence.
“We needed Mike to do what he normally does and some other guys to do a little bit more,” Stallings said. “Mike had a bad night. I think that caused panic in our team. We didn’t have enough firepower to solve problems.”
Even in the game’s early junctures, a Duquesne win seemed unlikely. The Panthers pushed their lead to 10, 30-20, late in the first half, giving the matchup the familiar feel of a blowout waiting to occur.
The Dukes, however, had other plans, ending the half on a 9-0 run to get within a point.
Their counterattack was only beginning. Trailing, 36-35, Duquesne scored 11 of the next 14 points, a run capped by a corner 3 from Lewis to give it a 47-38 advantage.
Pitt regained the lead, 4847, with 6:55 remaining, but, in a moment when the Dukes could have faded as they had done for so many years, they didn’t. Rene Castro and Blackman made back-to-back 3s to go back up five and, with his team leading, 55-51, Lewis was fouled on a 3 by Ryan Luther and sank all three shots with 2:01 left to solidify the upset.
For Ferry, who has worked the past four-plus years trying to turn around a stagnant program, the victory, even from a perception standpoint locally, was a breakthrough. To Pitt’s players, the loss came with a deflating shock they hope to turn into a positive.
Days after beating Maryland on the road by 14, Stallings said he sensed a letdown from his players during the shootaround Friday and in the locker room before the game. As he paced along the sideline in the final seconds, right around when he stared at Artis, he had a message for his players.
“They’re going to rush the floor,” he said, in reference to Duquesne’s students in attendance. “Hope you enjoy this.”
When the final horn sounded, they did just as Stallings thought they would, mobbing the Duquesne players who, minutes later, were handed a trophy their school hadn’t received since Bill Clinton was president.
While Pitt’s players absorbed what their coach hoped was a teaching moment, the Dukes soaked in the surreal scene. They had done it.
“You definitely know about it when you come here,” Duquesne guard Tarin Smith said. “We know the history of it and we know they win it a lot. We tried to change that tonight.”