CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Pittsburgh coach Jeff Capel gave his freshmen backcourt simple instructions Tuesday night: Attack the hole.

The strategy worked as Trey McGowens scored 26 points, Xavier Johnson added 23 and Pittsburgh defeated Boston College 80-70 in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

The explosive freshmen combined to shoot 14 of 28 from the field and make 19 of 26 free throws as the 14th-seeded Panthers won their second straight game since snapping a 13-game losing streak.

“We’ve been at our best when we’ve been able to get downhill and attack,” Capel said. “... I thought they were terrific. They dictated the pace, the tempo. They gave us confidence, and I thought that led to other guys stepping up and making big plays.”

Jared Wilson-Frame chipped in with 16 points and nine rebounds for Pittsburgh (14-18).

With the freshman getting to the basket, Pittsburgh was able to score on layups and outscore Boston College 48-16 in the paint.

“They took over the game, just by attacking the rim,” Boston College coach Jim Christian said. “The first time we played them we did a great job of keeping them in front and them protecting the basket with our secondary defender. Today we did an awful job of both.”

Nik Popovic had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead Boston College (14-17), which shot 35.6 percent from the field and trailed by as many as 27 in the second half before cutting it to nine with 58 seconds left.

The Panthers closed the first half on a 23-5 run to take a commanding 36-21 lead at the break.