For a few minutes in the first half - and a few in the second - of Pitt’s game against Boston College at the Petersen Events Center Tuesday night, it looked like the ACC’s top team might struggle with one of the conference’s bottom teams.

But basketball games are 40 minutes, and for most of the 40 minutes played Tuesday night, the Panthers looked like the league’s best team, settling in on defense and executing on offense to blow out the Eagles 77-58.

There were certainly some dicey moments in the early going for the home team. After Pitt jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first six minutes, Boston College hit five consecutive baskets to go ahead 16-10. The Eagles eventually pushed that lead to seven at 24-17 with eight minutes left in the half, but their hopes of an upset faded quite quickly after that.

With the starting lineup back on the court for the first time in seven minutes, Pitt took over. The Panthers outscored the visitors 15-2 in the next four minutes, led by eight points from Blake Hinson and another three from Greg Elliott.

By the time halftime arrived, the Panthers were up nine at 40-31, and as has been the case more often than not this season, they had three-point shooting to thank. Pitt started the game hitting just two of its first seven three-point attempts, but they made four of their final five.

Pitt’s nine-point lead at halftime faded a bit as Boston College showed some signs of life coming out of the break. The Eagles even had the Panthers’ advantage down to five at 44-39 four minutes into the second half, but once again, Pitt took over.

The response started with a Nelly Cummings three, which was followed by Hinson’s fifth three of the game. A long jump shot from Jamarius Burton and a floater from Cummings extended the lead before Hinson drained another three-pointer that was punctuated by an and-1.

By the time Boston College head coach Earl Grant called timeout with 9:30 left in the half, Pitt was up 21 at 62-41 and firmly in control.

From there, it was a matter of running out the clock, and Pitt’s lead peaked at 27 when the Panthers went up 76-49 after a Nike Sibande three with three minutes left.

Quite simply, Pitt did what one of the top teams in the conference should do against one of the bottom teams in the conference. Hinson led the way with his fourth 20-point performance in an ACC game this season, scoring 21 on 7-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-11 from three. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Cummings just missed a double-double when he scored 11 points and tied his season high with eight assists.

Team leader Burton had a quiet 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting, but made up most of his points at the free throw line, where he hit 6-of-6. Center Federiko Federiko also had 10 points, seven rebounds (four on the offensive end) and three blocks.

With the win, Pitt improved to 19-7 on the season and 12-3 in the ACC, giving the Panthers a half-game advantage on Virginia, who is 11-3 and will play at Louisville Wednesday night.

Pitt will be back in action Saturday for a 5 pm tipoff at Virginia Tech.