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PITTSBURGH -- Michael Young scored 24 points and added 10 rebounds as Pittsburgh held off Yale, 75-70, Tuesday night.Young, the two-time reigning ACC Player of the Week, was a jack-of-all trades for the Panthers. In addition to leading the team in scoring and rebounds, Young had three assists, a block and went a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.Pitt (4-1) took advantage of an aggressive Yale defense by getting to the foul line frequently. The Bulldogs committed a total of 19 fouls, and Pitt made 18 of 23 from the free-throw line.We took the ball strong to the rim and got them in foul trouble, Pitt coach Kevin Stallings said. We were able to get ourselves to the line and it ended up being the difference in the game, probably.Pitts Jamel Artis had 20 points and six rebounds. The point guard was able to lead Pitts transition game, which outscored Yale, 14-7, on fast-break points.Yale (2-2) kept the game close throughout the first half by using some hot outside shooting. Guard Miye Oni hit three first-half 3-pointers as part of a 13-point night. The Bulldogs as a team shot 40.7 percent from beyond the arc.We go into every game trying to take what teams give us, said Yale coach James Jones. We figured out that driving it, having them collapse, and then kicking the ball out was good for us.Late in the game, Yale changed to a press and closed a 10-point Pitt lead.BIG PICTUREYale: The Bulldogs continue to get strong offensive production despite the loss of leading returning scorer Makai Mason, who is out with an injury. Yale had four players in double digits, with Sam Downeys 17 leading the way.Pitt: Kevin Stallings has been searching for a third scorer to complement Young and Jamel Artis, who had 20. Sophomore Cameron Johnson threw his hat into the ring, scoring 15 points, including a series of three straight 3-pointers in the second half to help the Panthers build a lead.It was a big boost, Young said. They went zone, kept it compact, took away the driving lanes and made us use the pass more. (Johnson) opened up things for us and helped us keep the lead and keep it at margin we could be comfortable.TURNING POINT: Yales press closed the margin to three points with under a minute to play when Yale guard Anthony Dallier inadvertently fouled Artis, who made both free throws to restore Pitts two-possession lead.?It was a bit of a homecoming game for Dallier, who had never played at the Petersen Events Center despite growing up in nearby Wexford, Pa. He started and played 25 minutes while scoring six points.?UP NEXTThe Bulldogs continue a four-game road swing when they visit Vermont Saturday. Yale plays five of its first six games on the road this season.Pitt hosts Morehead State Friday night. The Panthers beat Eagles last season, 72-62. Wholesale Custom Yankees Shirts . 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Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Mercury reviewed video of their 113-95 loss to the Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals before a light practice Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center. Brittney Griner hardly needed the visual reminder of something that bugged her.In 27 minutes Wednesday in Game 1, the 6-foot-8 Griner, the tallest player on the floor, grabbed two rebounds, both on the defensive end. Her 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting meant nothing to her, because scoring isnt her primary gig. Her inside presence keys Phoenixs defense, which came up woefully short in Game 1.Four days after her dominant second-round performance in New York -- 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocks -- lifted Phoenix into the WNBA semifinals, Griners lack of aggression annoyed her so much that she brought it up without being asked. She knows she needs to be better Friday night in Game 2 (ESPNEWS, 8 p.m. ET).Two rebounds in a playoff game? Thats ridiculous, said Griner, a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. Its unacceptable. I have to make a better effort at boxing out Syl (Sylvia Fowles), or whoever it is, and getting more boards.Rebounds usually arent plentiful when one team shoots 63.9 percent, as the Lynx did. Yet Fowles grabbed 10, keying Minnesotas 38-20 edge on the glass and 16-2 dominance in fast-break points.I saw a Minnesota team playing one of the best games Ive seen them play, and I saw a Phoenix team that didnt play anywhere near as good as they could play, Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said. We just didnt give them any resilience or defense. We didnt execute much. Hopefully we play better in the next game.The Mercurys poor defense and inability to slow the Lynx even a little enabled Minnesota to set the league record for points in a regulation-length playoff game. Brondello sat Griner, Diana Taurasi, Penny Taylor and Candice Dupree for the entire fourth quarter, unwilling to overtax them with the game out of hand. In the final minutes, Taurasi turned to jaw with a heckler. It was that kind of night.Our overall schemes were a little bit too passive, Dupree said. Because our offense was going early, our defense slacked. We cant let our defense bbe predicated on our offense.dddddddddddd Regardless of whether were scoring the ball or not, weve got to be able to get stops. Weve got to be more aggressive.The new best-of-five semifinal format, instead of a best-of-three series, means one clunker doesnt decide a series. That takes the elimination edge off Friday night. Brondello said the Mercury prefer playing up-tempo to prevent Minnesota from setting its defense. But that requires Phoenix to play some defense itself.There wasnt much on either side Wednesday, except late in the first quarter, when Minnesotas three-guard tandem of Anna Cruz, Jia Perkins and Renee Montgomery disrupted Phoenixs offense by slowing the hot-shooting Taurasi.The Lynx countered with 14 consecutive points in the second quarter to go up 39-25. Phoenix never recovered. The Mercurys 34-point third quarter made little difference because they gave up 36. Phoenix shot 53.5 percent and still lost big.The first quarter we had a pretty good rhythm, doing things that were hurting them, Taurasi said. In the second quarter it all went away. In the third quarter, we were trading baskets. That doesnt help when youre down double digits.Added Griner: A lot of times they just drove down the middle. Weve got to clog up the paint, make it harder for them to get to the basket. ...In a playoff like this, when you let a team go on a run like that, theyre going to make it hard for you to get it back. We got into a little bit more of rhythm, though, with our offense later on in the game. Now its coming out the next game, applying that at the beginning of the game and all the way to halftime.Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve wasnt thrilled with her teams defense, either, making that a point of emphasis Thursday. Her bench might be thinner for Game 2 if Janel McCarville, who missed Game 1 with back spasms, and Cruz (buttocks contusion) cant go.Brondello also termed backup center Kelsey Bone (left elbow strain) questionable for Game 2. She hurt it in the fourth quarter trying to wrest her arm free from Fowles grasp. ' ' '