Page’s defense helps Pitt to first title

NEW YORK – During the 1990s, the Buffalo Bills lost four straight Super Bowls, and coming… NEW YORK – During the 1990s, the Buffalo Bills lost four straight Super Bowls, and coming into Saturday night, the Pitt men’s basketball team had lost two straight Big East Tournament Championship games.

On Saturday, though, a Buffalo representative made sure history would not repeat itself.

“I watched the Bills lose four Super Bowls in a row and being from Buffalo, that’s in my mind,” junior guard Julius Page, a Buffalo, N.Y., native, said.

Page would ensure that the Panthers would not suffer the Bills’ fate, no matter what.

“I really felt bad because I didn’t think I gave my all in those two games [the last two years] we lost, so my main focus was to come out there and leave it on the floor, no matter what it took,” Page said.

Page definitely played harder this year and took it upon himself to help his team, and for his efforts, was awarded the Dave Gavitt trophy as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

With his presence being felt on the defensive end, the Panthers dominated all three-tournament games. Pitt held all three opponents to less than 60 points while combining to shoot just 56 for 158, or 35 percent.

Page’s job normally is to defend the best scorer of the opposition, and he did a tremendous job last weekend.

On Friday night, Page went head-to-head with Boston College’s and the Big East’s leading scorer, Troy Bell.

Bell finished with 21 points, but that number is deceiving. Bell went seven for 20 from the field, shooting only 35 percent, not to mention his four for 13 performance from behind the arc, a very low 30 percent.

“Julius did a great job on Troy Bell,” Panthers’ head coach Ben Howland said. “I think if you ask Troy Bell he’d probably tell you of all the guys that have defended him over the last four years – in this conference – I can’t imagine anybody having done a better job on him than Julius.”

Page had some help defensively, as the whole team combined to hold the Eagles to 14 for 49 from the field – only 28.6 percent.

“Anytime you hold an opponent to 28 percent there is a good chance you are going to win,” Howland said.

The Panthers did win and were helped by Page’s 16 points and six-rebound performance. Page though, would save his best for last.

Saturday night brought a rematch of last year’s Big East Championship, as well as another tough assignment for Page, who was matched up with the opposition’s leading scorer, Connecticut’s Ben Gordon.

Gordon came into the game as one of the top five leading scorers in the Big East and was the catalyst who helped UConn defeat Syracuse on Friday.

What would Page do for an encore?

Shut down UConn’s leading scorer of course. Gordon ended up finishing the game with 13 points, but only shot five-of-18 from the field. Page not only contributed defensively with four steals, but also on offense, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Page’s performance in the tournament was good enough to get his team the championship it has coveted for three years, which is all that he seems to care about.

“Everything we do is team-based. Ain’t no individuals on this team, never been, never will be,” Page said. “I can’t take credit for the MVP trophy. [Brandin Knight] is the MVP to me, he’s the leader, he’s playing hurt, things like that.”

Page and the Panthers will make their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, opening up Friday in Boston against Wagner.

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