clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Pittsburgh Vs. DePaul Final Score: Blue Demons Win 84-81 At Home

The DePaul Blue Demons came away with a 84-81 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night.

By Satchel Price
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Brandon Young #20 of the DePaul Blue Demons commits a charging foul on the falling Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Brandon Young #20 of the DePaul Blue Demons commits a charging foul on the falling Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
Getty Images

The DePaul Blue Demons came away with a 84-81 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night, bouncing back from the team's recent loss to No. 1 Syracuse. The Blue Demons trailed for most of the game and needed seven points from Brandon Young in the game's final ten seconds to pull things off. It's the first Big East conference win of the season for DePaul, while Pittsburgh has now lost four consecutive games since beginning the season with an 11-1 record.

After trailing 37-31 going into halftime, the Blue Demons needed an impressive offensive performance in the second half to come back. In the second half, the Panthers led by as many as 12 points, but a 17-6 run by the Blue Demons helped to cut that lead to just one. The game was quite close for the remainder, but things looked pretty dire for DePaul when they trailed 81-77 with just 17 seconds left.

Then Brandon Young went into action, though, and carried the Blue Demons to a stunning victory. After making a quick layup to cut the lead and two missed free throws by Pittsburgh, Young managed to make another shot in the lane while getting fouled with just one second remaining. The three-point play not only took away Pittsburgh's lead, but it put DePaul ahead for good. Young stole the ball from the Panthers on the throw-in, and his free throws sealed the 84-81 victory.

It was a positively stunning finish to the game. Young scored seven points in the final ten seconds of the game to finish with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals, and Cleveland Melvin added 20 points in a strong effort. The Panthers got double-digit scoring performances from each of their five starters, but most of them struggled with their shots. Talib Zanna was 8-for-8 from the field for Pittsburgh, but the other four starters were a combined 16-for-48 shooting.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, head over to Big East Coast Bias. For more from around NCAA hoops, visit SB Nation's NCAA basketball news hub.