PITTSBURGH — Syracuse (16-10, 8-5 Atlantic Coast) couldn’t finish a game of catchup against Pittsburgh (14-11, 3-9), and fell to the Panthers, 80-75, on Saturday afternoon in the Petersen Events Center. Here are the superlatives from a loss that halted SU’s five-game win streak.

Turning Point

After trailing for the entire second half, Andrew White penetrated through the Panthers’ defense to make it a 74-70 game with less than a minute to go. Sheldon Jeter then missed a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession after he was fouled, but on the Orange’s next possession, Tyler Lydon had a pass slip out of his hands and out of bounds. Cameron Johnson was fouled and essentially put the game away by hitting two free throws to make it a six-point game with less than 30 seconds to go.

Stud — Michael Young

While Syracuse struggled mightily to catch any offensive traction, Pittsburgh leaned on senior Michael Young. The 6-foot-9 senior guard finished second on his team with 21 points, giving the Orange fits around the basket. Young entered the game as the ACC’s leading scorer, averaging 20.9 points per game, and showed on Saturday why that’s the case.

Almost any time the game swung SU’s way, Young led Pitt’s retaliation. John Gillon knifed his way through the Panther’s entire defense on one inbound play, and Young proceeded to lead his team down the court and finish with a clean dunk. After Lydon finally got his first points of the game after 24 minutes, Young came down on the other end with another two-handed flush to keep Pittsburgh afloat.

Dud — Tyler Lydon

When SU’s best player disappears, so does any chance of a lead. Lydon finished the game with eight points, shooting 3-of-7 against the Panthers’ defense. Those numbers are almost entirely a product of the second half, because Lydon played all 20 minutes of the first half while taking (and missing) only one shot. He struggled to create space down low against Johnson, 300-pound big man Rozelle Nix and almost any other Panthers player. That forced SU to rely more on its 3-point shooting, which sputtered for most of the afternoon.

Highlight — Chris Jones breaks the press

In a last-ditch effort to make up ground on the Panthers, Syracuse spent much of the second half pressing on defense. More often than not, Pittsburgh broke it with easy on cross-court passes or lobs into open space. On one such play, after SU cut the deficit to seven points, Chris Jones hauled in a quarterback-like pass that sailed three quarters of the way down the court.

With Gillon in a half-hearted pursuit, he barely got a hand on the 6-foot-6 senior as he rocked his home arena with an easy bucket.

Lowlight — Artis’ breakaway layup irks Jim Boeheim

With Syracuse trying to string together another double-digit comeback, it couldn’t get out of its own way as the second half wore on. Roberson created space down low, catching a feed from Lydon and backing down Jamel Artis to put home the bucket. With the Orange pressing on the ensuing inbounds, Andrew White nabbed a steal. But not a moment later, Artis took possession back for the Panthers, streaking down the court for a breakaway layup that put Pitt up by 10 with 9:30 to go.

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim nearly threw off his suit jacket in frustration, something he could’ve done on a number of plays Saturday afternoon.

Published on February 11, 2017 at 3:11 pm