Semi-rapid reaction: Pitt 78, Marquette 75

NEW YORK -- In a game that appeared destined to finish almost any other way a half-hour earlier, Pitt posted a furious, largely one-man second half comeback to defeat Marquette, 78-75, in the consolation game of the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden.

How did it all play out? Well...

Turning point: Michael Young was a man possessed in the second half, scoring 19 points in the final 20 minutes to finish with a career-high 30. A sizable chunk of those points came in a span of 2:25, when the senior forward scored 10 unanswered to tie the game with 10:31 remaining. The game wasn't decided until the final possession, when Andrew Rowsey missed a 3-pointer with three seconds left, but Young single-handedly gave Pitt a chance that it lacked for much of the game up to that point.

Game ball: There's really only one answer to this. In addition to his career scoring day, Young had seven rebounds and three blocks, the latter of which matched a career high. His scoring outburst seemed to ignite other aspects of his game, particularly his typically mediocre interior defense. If he can play close to that level down low the remainder of the season, Pitt's defense may have a shot to be something much better than what it is right now.

Notable stat: 30, which was Marquette's shooting percentage in the second half (missing 21 of its 30 attempts). The Golden Eagles shot 48.6 percent in the first half, which helped them build a 44-33 lead heading into the locker room.

What it means: I don't know what this game is going to mean in the larger scope of the 2016-17 season and I'm not going to try to guess what role it may play. But for the moment, this was a win that gives Pitt a level of pride it would have been sorely lacking had it left MSG with two losses to its name. We're only four games in, so there isn't a whole lot else I can add on that front.

But what I really want to talk about is Young and Artis. My game story and blog entry after last night's loss highlighted how predictable and one-dimensional (or I guess two-dimensional since there are two of them) Pitt's offense is when it simply defers to its two best players, something that, as I saw it, played a big role in a loss to an SMU team that was much better than the Panthers' opponents up to that point. Tonight, though, they combined for a greater percentage of production than they did last night in the three categories I mentioned -- points (65.4), made shots (64.3) and attempted shots (61.4). When that happens in a loss, that reliance is detrimental to the team's overall growth and success. When it comes in a win, those prolific outings are star turns that helped will the team to a win. The final result simply determines how we contort the storyline.

What Pitt has in Young and Artis is real. Through four games, the duo is averaging a combined 43.8 points per game, with Young at 24 and Artis at 19.8. If nothing else, and no matter how poorly things are going, the Panthers have two players that should, theoretically, be able to score against most anyone. But there's a downside to it, of course. Young, for example, had as many points in the two games in New York (52) as every Pitt player not named Jamel Artis did combined. They desperately need some help, at the very least a third scorer. Without it, this team's potential will not come close to being realized.

What's next: A home matchup against Yale next Tuesday. The Bulldogs, ranked 121st by KenPom, opened their season with a 98-90 win at Washington last Sunday.

Notable quotables: "When your back's up against the wall, you've just got to fight, man. Me being a senior and Jamel being a senior, going into the game I told him 'It's now or never.' After the second half, we can't get this game back. We can't get any more games back. Every game our senior year matters. I just wanted to go out, give it my all, really get aggressive and lead my team. Me and Jamel, together, were basically like 'You all follow us. We're going to lead you all and, as a team, we're going to win this game." - Mike Young on his mindset when Pitt was down 15 in the second half

"When he was out of the game, I knew in my mind it was time for me to be aggressive and time for me to step up, to be the senior, to be the all-ACC guy. Whatever you want to say, I had to be that guy for us tonight." - Young on his 10-0 run

"We're going to carry a lot of the load, but we can't win it ourselves. We need every single one of those guys, whether it's Ryan Luther tonight, Sheldon [Jeter] the next game or Cam Johnson tonight or Chris [Jones] tomorrow, whoever -- [Justice] Kithcart, [Damon] Wilson -- we need everybody. We're going to carry a lot of the load, but we need those guys to be just as big and just as important for this team as we are if we're going to be who we want to be." - Young on Pitt needing to build scoring depth

"For us to go out there and be aggressive on the offensive end like we did, and we got about five stops, it helped a lot. I think it wore the team we played tonight out." - Jamel Artis on how Young's run changed the team

"We've got scorers. Me and Mike, we're a tough duo. We can run with anybody in the country. I believe that." - Artis

"Defense won the game for us. I'm really proud of them. I proud of them for having dug in the way they did and showing some pride in the second half and playing defense the way we're going to have to play if we're going to have a chance to have a great year." - Kevin Stallings

"We're fortunate. We've got a lot of things we need to get better at. We're not anywhere close to where we want to be right now. There might be a million reasons for it, but we have to go back and get things shored up rather quickly." - Stallings on where Pitt goes from here

"I learned we're not going to just keep getting slapped in the face. It felt like we were just getting slapped in the face for two days up here, but fortunately, it ended up only being a day and a half. We slapped back in the second half." - Stallings on what he learned about his team

"It's not that new to them; they've been playing their whole life. What I see is a lack of concentration, a lack of anticipation. It's all reactionary; we're not thinking ahead as to what might happen and how we can best defend it. Then in some cases, we're reverting to some habits that aren't the best. We have to keep working on the habits." - Stallings on Pitt still getting acclimated defensively

"I admire him. I think that's how a senior should play. Michael Young, Artis and Jones, their three seniors had 64 points. When they were really struggling, their seniors stepped up big time. I admire what Michael Young did. That's how seniors who are on a mission should play." - Marquette coach (and one of many in the proud line of hated white Duke players) Steve Wojciechowski

Craig Meyer: cmeyer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @CraigMeyerPG