Syracuse Blows Halftime Lead Again as Pitt Dominates Orange

Syracuse held a five point lead at halftime after a 10-2 run closed out the first half. From there, Pittsburgh dominated both ends of the floor as they outscored Syracuse by 25 in the second half on their way to a 96-76 victory. The loss drops the Orange to 7-4 (1-3) on the season and is their third straight loss in conference play. Pittsburgh scored 64 of its 96 points while shooting 62% from the floor in the second half.

It was a game that in some ways was similar to the first matchup. Syracuse got out to an early lead (9-1 in this one, 11-0 in the first game), took a lead into halftime, and then were dominated in the second half. As the game went along, Pittsburgh's energy and intensity grew, which Syracuse was unable to match.

Pittsburgh got a boost from the surprising return of their best player Justin Champagnie. He was supposed to be out another few weeks with an injury, but got the start and Syracuse had no answer for him. He finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Twenty of those 22 points came in the second half.

Syracuse only turned the ball over five times and were much more competitive on the boards than the last meeting, but the lack of making outside shots was the big issue for Syracuse. The Orange were just 3-22 from beyond the arc, including 0-8 from Buddy Boeheim and 0-3 from Joe Girard. Girard finished 0-4 overall in the game with just two points in 22 minutes.

Alan Griffin led Syracuse with a career high 28 points on 10-18 shooting. He added seven rebounds. Quincy Guerrier finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. Marek Dolezaj added 14 points, three rebounds and three blocks.

Syracuse held a 20-6 advantage in points in the paint in the first half, but Pittsburgh dominated after halftime with a 34-18 edge. The Panthers had three players score over 20 points. In addition to Champagnie, Xavier Johnson had 23 to go along with seven assists. Ithiel Horton scored 20 points including five made three pointers.

Syracuse's next game is on Tuesday against Miami in the Carrier Dome. That game tips at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.