BOSTON – There was never a doubt. It’s happened too many times for there to be any.
Levance Fields is nothing if not a big shot-maker. The Pittsburgh point guard made clutch shots throughout his career, and all too often has done so in games where he struggled shooting the ball. He would struggle all night long, but when it mattered most, he would be lights out. Again, the opportunity presented itself. Again, the script played out the same way it always has.
This time around, the Panthers were trailing Xavier 54-52 as the final minute approached. Fields was 3-9 from the field, a fairly ordinary game from a scoring standpoint. (He finished the night with six assists and three turnovers, so he had a nice night from that standpoint.) He had the ball, and it wasn’t clear a particular play was developing, but he got a little separation from the defender. He put up a shot from long range, and as soon as it left his hand there had to be no doubt it was going in. When the play was over, Pittsburgh had a 55-54 lead with 53 seconds left.
Fields had done it again.
“As I said earlier, I never get tired of watching Levance take big shots,” said head coach Jamie Dixon. “He’s made them year after year. Our guys believe in him. I believe in him. And that’s all that matters.”
Earlier this year, Fields buried Connecticut with two late three-pointers in the Panthers’ first win over the Huskies, in a game where he shot 2-10 from the field. He also had a game-winner against Duke last year at Madison Square Garden, although he had a little better stat line in that game as he was 7-13 from the field that night.
This time, the stakes were higher than ever. The Panthers had not been able to get past the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams, a subject the players have been asked about lately. They have racked up the wins in recent years – only three programs have won more games over the last eight years – but the Sweet 16 was the limit. And while Dixon was accurate in talking about how it’s not so bad to get to the Sweet 16, as that’s a good accomplishment, the expectations for the teams this program has fielded in recent years were a little higher.
For a while, it looked like they might again fail to advance further, as Xavier was the more physical team in the first half and had a 37-29 edge at halftime. Even though the Panthers clearly had all the momentum in the second half early on, they didn’t exactly take over the game. They never led by more than five points all night long, and it didn’t hurt that Xavier had several point-blank layups they should have made early in the second half. The game went back and forth at times in the second half, with the Musketeers leading before Pittsburgh’s clutch floor leader came through again.
“It’s like Coach said, I always get the credit, but it’s special to have first off, I do have confidence, but especially to have my coach and my teammates to believe in me down the stretch,” said Fields, who then alluded to DeJuan Blair and Sam Young in adding, “I’ve got two stars on each side of me right here who could step up in that situation.”
Indeed, both had stepped up earlier in the evening. Young kept them afloat in the first half with 11 of his game-high 19 points on 5-8 shooting, at a point where they were struggling to get much going. Blair took over in the second half after being invisible (as difficult as that may be for a 6’7″, 265-pound player to be) in the first half, as he had eight points and 13 rebounds in the second half alone to finish with 10 and 17, respectively. He looked much more like the unstoppable rebounder he usually is in the second half.
And as it turns out, both had stepped up just to set the stage. It was set for the one Panther who always embraces that stage and makes the most of it, even on a bad shooting night like Thursday night. When it counts, his shots always seem to go in. By now, there is no doubt when the ball leaves his hand late in the game, no matter how his shooting has been in the game before that point.
