Pitt Falls in Slugfest to Syracuse
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers arrived in Syracuse, New York riding some momentum after winning four in a row to close non-conference play.
But their winning streak was snapped during a throwback slugfest against their old rivals from the Big East in Syracuse. Pitt fell victim to turnover issues early and often, and with two of their biggest stars riding cold offensive nights, the Panthers lost, 81-73, and fell to 0-2 in conference play.
With Zack Austin back in the starting lineup for the first time since the Canisius game three weeks ago, the Panthers won the tip-off but Judah Mintz, a one-time Pitt commit, scored the first bucket of the game and J.J. Starling added another to make it 4-0, Orange early.
The Panthers answered with a 3-pointer from Guillermo Diaz Graham, a layup scored off a goaltend from Blake Hinson and a layup from Bub Carrington to make it a 7-0 run and a three-point advantage.
An 8-1 run fueled by multiple Pitt turnovers had the Orange back out in front, 12-11 but Austin canned his first shot - a triple from the wing - to put the Panthers back out in front, 12-11 by the first media timeout of the game.
Both sides came out of the break with greater defensive intensity and slowed the game to a slog. Syracuse re-took the lead with a pair of free throws but back-to-back 3-pointers from Carrington and Blake Hinson put the Panthers ahead 18-17.
Syracuse opened up a 24-20 lead with a 6-0 run but a dunk from Will Jeffress off a nice feed from Federiko Federiko tied the game at 24 with 8:01 left in the first half.
The Panthers began to grind out points by driving to the rim with Syracyse extending their defense to account for the 3-point shots that had fueled the Pitt offense. Hinson and Federiko found a handful of clean looks at the rim and the Panthers rode a 14-2 run to a 38-28 lead as the first-half clock wound down inside of 30 seconds.
Syracuse aided the Panthers on their run with three turnovers and a technical foul on head coach Adrian Autrey and the visitors entered halftime leading 38-30.
Jeffress, who grabbed seven rebounds in the first half and was a team-high +12, started the second half place of Austin and the Panthers picked up right where they left off, with Diaz Graham nailing a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound. He scored the first five points of the second half for the Panthers as they clung to a 43-39 lead by the first media timeout of the second half.
Turnover problems began to rear their ugly heads again, with back-to-back giveaways leading to five straight points on fastbreaks by the Orange. Mintz's two free throws with just over 14 minutes left put Syracuse ahead 44-43.
Carrington broke a 16-2 Syracuse run with a pull-up jumper from the foul line at the 12:25 mark of the second half, making it 45-46 in favor of the Orange. Jaland Lowe added a driving layup but by that point, Syracuse had opened up a 52-47 lead.
Austin then hit another big 3-pointer from the wing with 9:30 left in regulation to make it a 52-50 game.
Leggett finally scored his first bucket of the afteroon on an acrobatic layup through contact and added a free throw to make it a 55-56 deficit with just over seven minutes to play. But Starling responded with a triple on the fast break to make it a five-point advantage again for the Orange.
Austin answered a layup from Starling with a critical 3-pointer to make it 59-61 at the 5:30 mark of the second half. A goaltending call against Benny Williams on a layup by Leggett tied the game at 61, all following a timeout.
The Orange responded with consecutive buckets, one off Pitt's 14th turnover of the game, to make it 65-61 as an ugly game ran inside of four minutes left in regulation.
The Panthers left plenty of chances to get back in the game by missing free throws as they drew enough fouls to get into the bonus. Meanwhile, Syracuse's Benny Williams hit two foul shots with 3:11 left to make it 69-61, the Orange's biggest advantage of the game.
Hinson, after committing a turnover and hustling back for a stop, made a pair of free throws to get the Panthers back on the board, but after another loud dunk from Williams, Syracuse put a stranglehold on the game with just over two minutes remaining.
Quadir Copeland made two free throws to expand on his career-high scoring total and get to 17 points and make it a 10-point advantage that Syracuse did not look back from.
The Panthers went on a 7-2 burst, led by two big buckets and a steal from Diaz Graham made it just 78-72 with 34.5 seconds left, but after another turnover they couldn't make the last-ditch 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game. Syracuse burned off the remaining time without issue and walked away with an eight-point win.
With this loss, the Panthers remain winless in ACC play and put themselves in a big hole as they stare down a brutal first month of the conference season.
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