Syracuse Outlasts Pitt In Battle of ACC Unbeatens
Pitt met one of its oldest Big East rivals, the Syracuse Orange, for the first time in the ACC and the game seemed like old times. In a hard fought contest, the Orange’s superior athleticism proved to be the difference as they beat the Panthers 59-54 yesterday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse NY.
Syracuse received balanced scoring as 4 players put up double-digits and shot a blistering 51% from the floor to secure the win. Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis led all Orange scorers with 16 points on 5-8 shooting and received support from senior forward CJ Fair (13 points), forward Jerami Grant (12 points) and center Rakeem Christmas (10 points).
Pitt was once again led by star forward Lamar Patterson who led all scorers and pumped in 18 points on 6-15 shooting, including 4-9 from beyond the arc.
Pitt trailed at halftime 25-21 as Syracuse took a lot of close range shots that fell.
The Panthers did strike back with a furious rally in the second half, fueled by Patterson’s long-range three pointers and senior forward Talib Zanna’s strong inside play. In fact, Pitt outrebounded Syracuse 35-24 and at one point, assumed a 51-48 lead.
Pitt fell short, though, due to untimely turnovers and a lack of execution in the final minutes of the game.
Pitt record fell to 16-2 overall (4-1 in the ACC) while Syracuse improved to 18-0 overall (5-0 in the ACC). The two teams will meet again on February 12th in Pittsburgh in a rematch.
Next Up: vs Clemson at the Peterson Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA at 8pm EST.
