Jamel Artis scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and the Pitt Panthers held Georgia Tech scoreless for a five-minute stretch late in the game as Pitt squeaked out a 70-65 victory Saturday afternoon, improving to 3-2 in the ACC. In a game where each possession was a grind, Pitt (13-5, 3-2 ACC) held the Yellow Jackets to just 40 percent shooting on the afternoon, while getting just enough offense of their own to get by. “We did a lot of good things,” said Jamie Dixon. “We have some ... Read More
Duquesne, VCU Clash at Consol
Duquesne (6-9, 1-3) will take on No. 17 Virginia Commonwealth (14-3, 4-0) today at 2:00 pm ET at the CONSOL Energy Center in the Dukes’ first CONSOL home game this season. This marks the third meeting between Duquesne and third-year Atlantic 10 member VCU. The Rams defeated Duquesne 80-65 last year at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was picked to finish first in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll. Both teams enter the game ranked among the bottom 20 teams nationally in team free throw ... Read More
Le’Veon Bell named PFWA Most Improved Player
Judging by his performance in his second season in the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell could be collecting many awards and honors throughout his pro football career. The first of his honors came on Friday when Bell was named the 2014 Most Improved Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America. Bell set a Steelers’ franchise record with 2,215 yards from scrimmage this year (second in NFL). He also set a Steelers’ record for running backs with 83 receptions ... Read More
Penguins Fall to Okposo’s Four Goals
Sidney Crosby had his first two-goal game since October 20, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Kyle Okposo’s four goals as the Penguins fell to the Islanders by a final score of 6-3. The Penguins started well; a pair of powerplay goals were separated by just 1:30 in the first period. Crosby opened the scoring at 10:52 following a tripping penalty by Michael Grabner before David Perron slipped the puck past Jaroslav Halak following a high-sticking penalty. The goal was Perron’s fourth in five ... Read More
NCAA Proposes Settlement to Restore Paterno’s Wins
The NCAA proposed a settlement on Friday that would restore the Penn State football team’s wins that were vacated after the Sandusky child molestation scandal. Included in the deal is a new $60 million fine that would help provide for educational programs and reporting mandates for suspected child abuse in Pennsylvania. Per the NCAA, the proposed agreement includes the following: • Penn State agrees to commit a total of $60 million to activities and programs for the prevention of child ... Read More
Pitt DC Josh Conklin faces tough challenge
New Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi addressed the crowd at a Pitt basketball game last week and promised the Panthers would be a tough team under his watch. “We will play tough and we will practice tough,” Narduzzi said. When you think about toughness, a lot of people immediately think about defense, which means that new defensive coordinator Josh Conklin is going to have the tough assignment of making this Panthers defense a very tough one to play against. Narduzzi’s decision to hire ... Read More
IUP’s Devante Chance leading Crimson Hawks from point guard spot
IUP is historically a program that produces solid results and great players. The Crimson Hawks' point guard, Devante Chance, is just the next one up. A senior, Chance has really elevated his play during the 2014-15 season from his point guard position. The Crimson Hawks are 15-2 and sit only a half game back in the PSAC West, and Chance is a big reason for the success. Chance, a 5-foot-11, 181-pound guard from Philadelphia, is averaging 14.1 points and a PSAC-best 6.1 assists per game this ... Read More
Jamie Dixon gets win No. 300 as Pitt defeats Florida State
Michael Young scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but it was little used Aron Phillips-Nwankwo that helped spark a run that helped the Panthers defeat Florida State. After being outrebounded by 17 Saturday in a loss to Clemson, Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon promised to use a bigger lineup to try and fix the Panthers rebounding woes. Nwankwo got 12 minutes off the bench and made them count, sparking a 16-3 second-half run that broke a tie game and helped propel the Panthers to a 73-64 ... Read More
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi must make quarterback depth a priority
For the Pitt football program to turn things around in the near future, one thing that new Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi is going to have to accomplish is finding a legitimate big time quarterback. For now though Narduzzi will likely settle for any quarterback. As it stands now, the Panthers will extremely thin at the position next season behind starter Chad Voytik, after what has seemed to be a revolving door at the position the past couple of days. Alex Hornibrook de-committed from Pitt on ... Read More
Aaron Donald named PFWA Rookie of the Year
If the past calendar year is any indication, former Pitt Panthers’ defensive lineman Aaron Donald is going to need a bigger trophy case. Donald was named the Pro Football Writers of America 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year and a member of the All-Rookie team on Tuesday. He is also the likely favorite to take home the official Defensive Rookie of the Year award from the Associated Press at the NFL honors presentation on Jan. 31. Donald led all rookies with nine sacks this past season ... Read More