Pittsburgh 80, Syracuse 69: Orange blow 16-point lead, drop third straight game

An outlier performance from three was not enough for Syracuse to come away with a victory in the Pitt of Doom.

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH, PA. — In a game that started off so promising and slowly but surely turned into heartbreak, the Syracuse Orange (11-16, 5-11) led by as much as 16 points only to see that lead evaporate and turn into a 80-69 road loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers (16-10, 7-8).

Syracuse right from tip-off came out scorching hot, dominating the first 10 minutes of the matchup and going up 22-6. From that point on, Syracuse’s strong shooting from three cooled, while Pitt’s defense found its footing while its offense finally got going. The Panthers ended up outscoring the Orange 74-47 the rest of the way, handing the Orange its third consecutive loss and dropping the season series against Pitt.

Syracuse made a season-high 14 threes and shot 42% from the perimeter, but just 38% overall. Chris Bell finished with a season-high 23 points on 7/15 shooting (7/12 from the field), while J.J. Starling (14 points, 5/15 shooting) was held to one field goal in the second half.

Pitt trailed big for the early portion of the game, but shot 63% from the field coming out of halftime and totally halted the Orange’s offense. Four players for the Panthers — Zack Austin (19 points), Ishmael Leggett (19 points), Jaland Lowe (17 points) and Brandin Cummings (11 points) — finished in double-figures.

Syracuse’s defense proved to be a difference maker right from the jump. The Orange forced four turnovers in the first four minutes of the game, more than the Panthers had during all of the last matchup between both teams. Starling got the Orange on the board two minutes into the game with a corner three-pointer. Another basket from Starling and a hook shot from Eddie Lampkin put led to Syracuse being up early 7-0.

After Syracuse went up as much as nine out of the gate, Pitt finally got on the board thanks to a three-pointer from each of Austin and Cummings. Syracuse’s defensive effort ended up paying off early, managing to get its lead up to 10 points (16-6) after Bell knocked down a three off the bench and Jaquan Carlos converted a layup in transition after forcing yet another Pitt turnover. Pitt began the game shooting just 18% (2/11) from the field and with no field goals from two-point territory.

The (early) onslaught only continued, thanks in part to Bell.

Coming out of the TV timeout, Bell knocked down back-to-back triples, one at the top of the key and another from the wing. Bell’s nine quick points off the bench powered Syracuse to a 16-point lead (22-6), its largest in the game so far, and forced Pitt into calling an early timeout.

The Panthers successfully responded, cutting Syracuse’s double-digit lead in half in less than two minutes. Lowe knocked down a deep triple, then Austin converted on consecutive baskets to get the Panthers within nine.

The unorthodox efficiency from three proved to be a saving grace for Syracuse for most of the first half. Ball movement got the Orange better looks from the perimeter, and that led to a strong 6/9 start from three.

Petar Majstorovic joined in on the three-point action, drilling one from the top of the key, but that was Syracuse’s lone basket in a stretch where it made just one in 10 tries. The Orange’s brief cold spell gave some opportunities for Pitt’s offense to find signs of life. Leggett made back-to-back mid-range jumpers, and just like that, Syracuse’s lead was down to just six (27-21) with five minutes to go until halftime.

Both offenses found their grooves to close out the first half, with one stretch in particular seeing Syracuse made five straight and Pitt knocking down five shots on seven attempts. Starling and Bell helped power the Orange to a 9/16 clip (56%) from three in the first half, but Lowe with just second to go knocked down a tough mid-ranger to cut Syracuse’s lead to seven (41-34) heading into the second half.

Nine of Syracuse’s 14 first-half field goals came from three. The duo of Bell (14 points, 4/6 from three) and Starling (11 points, 4/7 shooting, 3/6 from three) combined for 25 of Syracuse’s 41 first-half points. Austin’s 9 points on 4/4 shooting led the way for the Panthers.

To start the second half, Syracuse’s offense started off hot with two straight baskets from Davis and Lampkin, then immediately fell cold with a 1/7 stretch. The Orange quickly went back up 11 (45-34), only for a pair of baskets from Leggett and a three from Austin to trim Syracuse’s lead to just five with under 16 minutes to go.

Just minutes later, momentum swung in favor of Pitt.

After Carlos made a three to put Syracuse up by eight again, the Panthers really started to get going from three after switching to a five-out offense with Cameron Corhen facing foul trouble. Lowe intercepted the ball from Syracuse and scored in transition to tie the game at 51, forcing the Orange to call timeout.

Lampkin converted an and-one layup to put the Orange back up once again, but that didn’t stop Pitt from regaining control of the game. Syracuse’s stagnated on offense (going scoreless for almost three minutes) while Pitt really got going, making four straight and eight of their next 10 shots.

The Panthers not only took their first lead all game, but went on a 10-0 run in under two minutes to go up seven (63-56) with eight minutes left and forcing yet another Syracuse timeout.

A pair of threes from Bell kept Syracuse within distant striking range to try and find an offensive groove once again, cutting the deficit to as low as four points in the final portion of the second half.

But, the Panthers continued to slice the Orange’s defense. Corhen made a tough layup inside to give Pitt a double-digit lead for the first time all game with under two minutes to go, and that margin proved too much for Syracuse to retake control.

Syracuse will be off for over a week, returning to the JMA Wireless Dome on Wednesday, February 26 to face the NC State Wolfpack (10-15, 3-11).