Semi-rapid reaction: Pitt 84, Buffalo 79

In need of a positive development, Pitt defeated Buffalo, 84-79, Wednesday night at the Petersen Events Center.

It was far from pretty or consistent, but, unlike the Duquesne game last Friday, it was at least a win.

Turning point: This one, somehow, came incredibly late in the game. After leading by 26 in the first half and as many as 16 early in the second half, Pitt's advantage was down to three with 30 seconds remaining. With fewer than 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock, Jamel Artis hit a fallaway jumper along the baseline to give Pitt a two-possession advantage with 25 seconds left. Buffalo ended up hitting a 3-pointer 20 seconds later, but it was too little too late.

Game ball: From a per-minute standpoint, it was Mike Young, who had 17 points and seven rebounds in just 23 minutes, but I'll give the nod to Cam Johnson. He, along with Young, finished with a game-high 17 points and accounted for nearly half of Pitt's made 3s (three of seven). He looked significantly better as the team's third scoring option than he did as the No. 2 scorer against the Dukes.

Notable stat: 10.96, which was Buffalo's turnover percentage Wednesday night (meaning the Bulls turned the ball over on 10.96 percent of its 73 possessions). Entering the night, it was turning it over on 25 percent of its possessions, the sixth-worst mark in Division I. The Bulls had a key piece back tonight in guard CJ Massinburg, which should be taken in consideration, but this sort of reinforces a point about Pitt's defense. In short, it's not going to be one that makes any kind of a living on forcing turnovers, even against relatively sloppy or reckless teams. It's a reality for a longer group that's going to, likely, be spending much of its time in a zone, but it's a reality nonetheless.

What it means: I centered my game story around Pitt's scoring balance, with six players finishing in double figures, so I won't delve into it too much here. Instead, I'll look back at an issue that has reared its ugly head at several points this season -- a low level or complete lack of urgency from a team that, given its experience and components, shouldn't be in this position whatsoever.

This is something Kevin Stallings has referenced at different points this season, most notably after a 76-63 win last month against Morehead State. Against a team headed by an interim whose highest level of head-coaching experience was at a middle-school basketball camp, that lack of focus and intensity isn't a problem. Against a Buffalo team that returned five of its seven leading scorers from a squad that made its second-consecutive NCAA tournament last season, it nearly cost Pitt in a game they could ill afford to lose after the City Game debacle. When you're leading an inferior opponent by 26 in the first half, there's little, if any, excuse for that lead to ever dwindle into single digits, let alone to one. But that's where Pitt, a team with four senior starters, remarkably found itself Wednesday. Though at this point, is it really so remarkable if it keeps happening?

I worry sometimes about stressing on topics like this because, while Stallings is a forthcoming guy, his openness and insistence on this matter makes me wonder if he's using the media to emphasize his message and points of contention to his team. But based on what we've seen this season, he's not wrong. It's something that, until it gets cleaned up, can't be ignored with this team, even on nights in which it wins.

What's next: A matchup Saturday against Penn State in Newark, N.J. KenPom has Pitt as a 70 percent favorite against the Nittany Lions, who lost by 19 at home tonight against George Mason.

Notable quotables: "I'm pretty valuable to this team. I'm a pretty important guy. But there are other guys on this team who can step up. They should have stepped up that night. It happens." - Jamel Artis on what he learned from his one-game suspension

[Ed note: This quote understandably probably rankles some fans, who see it as selfish, arrogant or lacking any semblance of self-awareness. I'll defend Artis for two reasons: 1) as a media member, I love it when any player throws aside insincere platitudes and says what's actually on his mind and 2) he's absolutely right. Pitt looked terrible without him.]

"I believe we can. We just have to trust the offense and find a way to make shots. That's kind of what we were doing earlier in the game. If we just trust the offense a lot more, I don't see why six or seven guys can't hit double figures." - Sheldon Jeter on if the offense is capable of routinely having this kind of balance

"We seem to be having trouble closing the half. We talked about it. We talked about it at practice, we talked about it at the under-four timeout, about it being a really important stretch of the game. We proceeded to, I think, in the last four minutes of the first half, get out-scored, 16-2. After that, it's a game. They've got their head up, they've got confidence." - Kevin Stallings

"The other guys stepped up and played well. It's nice on a night when neither Mike or Jamel had their best game that we had four other guys step up and score in double figures and give us really important baskets and plays." - Stallings

"We still had two or three bone-headed plays where we went one-on-one or tried to take on a set defense when there's nothing there. We just have to learn how to play good offense when the other team is not making it easy, when it's just not going easily and right. I'm not sure we're there yet." - Stallings

"We have an older group that is sometimes happy to hit that cruise control button when they think they can instead of keeping the throttle down and trying to put somebody out of their misery." - Stallings

"I wouldn't call it great. I think it has gotten better. It's a work in progress. I talked to them a little bit after the game tonight. I think they like each other just fine off the court and even on the court, but there's another level of chemistry and togetherness we need to get this group to achieve." - Stallings on Pitt's leadership (or lack thereof)

"We were down 26, but from that point on, we pretty much outplayed them. We felt like we could beat this team coming in." - Buffalo coach Nate Oats

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