Pitt
9-4,0-2ACC
Syracuse
10-3,1-1ACC
Panthers Fall At Syracuse, 81-73
12/30/2023 3:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Pitt was unable to hold a halftime lead as poor free throw shooting and a big effort from the Syracuse bench led to an 81-73 loss to the Orange Saturday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome. Carlton Carrington finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, and five assists but the Panthers managed to go just 11-of-24 from the foul line, while committing a season-high 15 turnovers to slip to 9-4 on the season (0-2 ACC).
Syracuse got 52 points off the bench, including a game-high 22 points, including a 13-of-15 effort from the foul line from Quadir Copeland. Maliq Brown (16) and Benny Williams (15) also scored in double figures off the bench for Syracuse (10-3, 1-1 ACC).
Guillermo Diaz Graham finished with 14 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks, with Blake Hinson adding 11 points for the Panthers.
Pitt grabbed a 38-30 halftime lead with an 18-6 run over the final 8:34 of play in the half. Carrington scored seven points in the stretch, while Federiko Federiko delivered three buckets in the paint during the run.
Carrington had a personal five-point run to give the Panthers a 38-28 lead in the final minute of the half. Hinson made a nice defensive play taking a charge on Syracuse guard Judah Mintz. Carrington knocked in a pair of technical free throws after Syracuse was assessed a bench tech and then hit a three from the right wing to cap the run.
The Panthers scored eight second chance points off nine offensive rebounds to help offset 10 first half turnovers. Pitt was also shot an efficient 5-of-9 (.566) from three-point range, while holding the Orange to a 1-of-10 effort from beyond the arc. Carrington (13 points) and Hinson combined for 21 points, while the post tandem of Guillermo Diaz Graham and Federiko Federiko added a combined 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Guillermo Diaz Graham hit a three-pointer early in the second half to give the Panthers an 11-point advantage, but Syracuse countered with a 22-4 run to go up 52-45 with 10:22 remaining. Syracuse got nine points at the foul line during that stretch to shift the momentum in the game.
Pitt battled back over the next five minutes to knot the game at 61 on an Ishmael Leggett layup with 5:00 remaining in the contest. The bench trio of Copeland, Brown, and Williams answered back and scored Syracuse's final 21 points of the game with 10 of the the points coming at the line.
Pitt went 10-of-25 (.400) from three-point range but it wasn't enough to overcome the sub-par effort from the foul line.
BAD ON THE BACKBOARDS
After outrebounding the Orange by seven in the opening half, Pitt dropped the rebounding battle, 40-39, despite a career-high 10 rebounds from William Jeffress.
FREE THROW WOES
Pitt was outscored 24-11 from the free throw line as Syracuse went 24-of-30 from the charity stripe. The Panthers were just 6-of-15 (.400) from the line in the second half as the Orange went 19-of-24 (.792) from the free throw line.
JLOWE COMING ON STRONG
Jaland Lowe had a strong outing for Pitt with nine points, four assists, and no turnovers in 17 minutes of action. He hit a three in the final minutes of action and had another clean look off a Pitt steal that could have cut the deficit to three points with under 30 seconds remaining.
UP NEXT
Pitt opens the new year at home Tuesday, Jan. 2 against a nationally-ranked North Carolina team. The Panthers have won the past three matchups against the Tar Heels.
