Young's 24 Leads Pitt By Omaha 94-75

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Michael Young flirted with a triple double, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as Pitt raced by Omaha 94-75 on Wednesday night.

Jamel Artis added 19 points for the Panthers (10-2), who have won four straight since a stunning loss to Duquense in the annual City Game earlier this month. Ryan Luther battled foul trouble but finished with 11 points in 19 minutes.

Pitt shot 32 of 57 (56 percent) from the field and outrebounded the smaller Mavericks 38-27 and were never in any real trouble following an 18-2 run to end the first half.

Tre'Shawn Thurman led the Mavericks (7-6) with 18 points. Tra-Deon Hollins chipped in 17 as Omaha hung with the bigger, deeper Panthers for the opening 15 minutes but saw its three-game winning streak end during its first-ever game against an ACC school.

The Panthers endured an ugly stretch during the first half and were particularly careless with the ball. Omaha actually took a 31-28 lead on a layup by Thurman with 3:50 left in the first half as the crowd at the normally raucous Petersen Events Center booed.

Omaha's momentum didn't last. Luther hit a 3-pointer to tie it then followed with a layup. Cameron Johnson tipped in a Sheldon Jeter miss and Chris Jones hit a lay-up in transition. Young finished the surge by hitting an 18-foot jumper then a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to put the Panthers up 46-33 at the break.

Pitt has struggled at times closing out opponents during nonconference play. The Mavericks twice drew within 10 in the second half but each time Pitt responded. A jumper by Artis finished off an 18-6 burst that made it 81-59 and allowed first-year coach Kevin Stallings to substitute liberally over the final minutes.

BIG PICTURE

Omaha: The Mavericks can score. It's defending when it matters against quality competition that continues to be an issue. Omaha's pressure forced the Panthers into turnovers and easy transition buckets early but once Pitt settled down, the Mavericks couldn't get stops.

Pitt: The Panthers remain very much a work in progress with just 10 days to go before the ACC opener against Notre Dame. The sloppiness in the first half (at one point the Panthers had 10 assists and 10 turnovers) would have been more costly against a more proven team.

UP NEXT

Omaha: Opens its Summit Conference schedule at South Dakota on Dec. 29

Pitt: Wraps up nonconference play against Marshall next Wednesday.

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