It was supposed to be Elijah Hughes takeover time. With Pittsburgh slimming Syracuse’s lead possession by possession, the Orange turned to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading scorer to finish off another opponent. Only this time the shot didn’t fall. 

Instead, Marek Dolezaj scooped the rebound, pivoted and flushed in a layup from beneath the basket to provide Syracuse a five-point buffer. For Hughes, a player who entered the game averaging more than 19 points per game, notching 10 points was abnormal. Syracuse point guard Joseph Girard’s 25% shooting from the field also marked a rare blemish. Against Pitt, though, it was Syracuse’s lesser-celebrated players that contributed down the stretch to bail the Orange out. 

Behind Dolezaj’s 17 points and seven rebounds and 10 points and eight rebounds from Quincy Guerrier, along with 18 first half points from Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse (13-7, 6-3 ACC) never relinquished control of the game to the Panthers (13-7, 4-5). Instead of a shift it was the Orange that outshot its opponent by five percent, snagged six more rebounds than the Panthers and blocked six shots. It was the Orange that proved this five-game win streak isn’t a fluke. When the moment came and Pittsburgh started its comeback, it was the Orange that didn’t fold in a 69-61 win on Saturday in the Carrier Dome.

“It’s been a huge difference in end of the game situations,” Buddy said. “We’ve gotten a lot better at that. I think this is a much different team especially at the end of games.” 

Early in the month, Syracuse struggled to close out games against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. The Orange led in the second half of both games before blowing late leads. At that point two Saturdays ago, Syracuse was a sinking ship scrambling to plug its holes. Then it went on the road and beat the defending national champions and everything changed. The possibilities mounted. If they can go on the road and beat a team that previously held them to 34 points, who’s to say they can’t beat Boston College? And if Syracuse can beat BC handily, then why not Virginia Tech or Notre Dame?

The wins have strung together and culminated to Saturday. During the first half, Syracuse’s 2-3 zone puzzled Pittsburgh. The Panthers settled for outside shots that clanked off the back of the rim or were blocked by Syracuse defenders. Several times, SU players whacked the ball around Panthers ball-handers and started fast breaks. Buddy hit from in by the hoop and beyond the arc, totaling 18 first-half points and 21 in the game.  

Syracuse made just five 3-pointers against the Panthers — well below its average of 9.2 per game — and capitalized inside the arc, including Marek Dolezaj’s 17 points. Max Freund | Staff Photographer

For a portion of the opening 20 minutes, as Syracuse broke the game open on a 16-2 run, it looked like the Orange could do nothing wrong. Buddy sank his layup through contact first. Then Dolezaj and Quincy Guerrier did the same. The Pittsburgh defenders tried to make it hard for Syracuse. They flung their bodies in the way or slapped their hands at Syracuse shooting motions. That just led to free points from the charity stripe. 

But after leading by as much as 20 points, Syracuse couldn’t maintain that cushion the whole game. Careless passes led to easy buckets for Pittsburgh. Hughes didn’t score in the first half. Girard wouldn’t hit his only 3-pointer until less than five minutes remained in the game and the Orange racked up 13 turnovers. 

“There was never a comfort zone in this game at any time,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “Our defense was good, that kind of kept us in there.” 

In games earlier this year, those miscues often led to runs for the opponent. Syracuse didn’t allow that against Pittsburgh. When the Panthers brought the lead under 10 early in the second half, Hughes drove down and scored. Missed free throws and short shots prevented Syracuse from a dagger, but as Pitt fought back a final time, Syracuse closed it out.

As the Panthers battled back, they hit several times on a lob pass down to the lowest block along the paint. Clinging to a five-point lead, Dolezaj, didn’t allow another pass to go up over the Syracuse defense. Instead, he sprang back, met the ball at the same time as the Pittsburgh player and denied a scoring opportunity. 

 “A month ago, two months ago we didn’t play good defense but now we do,” Dolezaj said.  “Our best players didn’t play great (today) but we played great defense.” 

Before Syracuse’s win over the Eagles on Jan. 15, the Syracuse fans saw a path. Several discussed the “next five games” courtside. The five games leading up to a matchup with Duke a week from now. The five games that could give Syracuse fans hope that this year’s matchup with the Blue Devils will be one of those wins that fills the bars on Marshall Street. 

There’s one game left looming, a trip to Clemson, but the outcome feels less important now. Syracuse doesn’t need to win every game anymore. The Orange can win any game now.

Published on January 25, 2020 at 2:33 pm

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44