Panther of the Week: Michael Young

It wasn't pretty, but Pitt defeated St. Bonaventure 58-54 yesterday afternoon to run their record to 6-3. Jamel Artis had a big hand in the win with 14 points and adding in four blocks, but Michael Young edged him out for Panther of the Week by dominating the boards yesterday in the team's only contest last week.

There were a lot of miscues for the Panthers on Saturday in the narrow win, but luckily Young was able to use his skills on the defensive end to make up for any he may have made.

Young dropped in 14 points as well (eight on free throws), but also came down with 17 rebounds. 14 of those were on the defensive end of the floor, which kept the Bonnies from gaining second chance opportunities. In a game that did not feature great shooting nights by either team, defensive rebounding is usually the difference.

The sophomore power forward has been key for Pitt at the start of the year and if the Panthers want to be a contender in the ACC this season, they will need more games like this from him, minus the mental mistakes that he displayed in the second half. He wasn't the only one guilty of that but if he wants to be the team leader, he'll need to do a little more than he did late in the St. Bonaventure game.

Be sure to join Cardiac Hill's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter@PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt athletics. Follow the author@BrunoPittsburgh.