Syracuse Dominates Second Half to Top Pitt in ACC Home Opener
Syracuse trailed by as many as 11 early in the second half but rallied to knock off rival Pittsburgh in its ACC home opener 81-73 inside the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday. With the victory, the Orange improved to 10-3 (1-1) on the season. The Panthers dropped to 9-3 (0-2). Next up for Syracuse is a trip to Cameron Indoor to face Duke on Tuesday, January 2nd. That game tips at 9:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.
Quadir Copeland set a career high with 22 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds, dished out four assists and had three of the Orange's 12 steals. Benny Williams was a huge spark off the bench with 15 points and seven rebounds. Maliq Brown was as well with 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
This was a positive sign for Syracuse moving forward as the Orange won a game in conference without Judah Mintz having a huge game. He was solid with 12 points, five assists and three steals, but was not the main force for SU.
Pitt's best player, Blake Hinson, was limited to just 3-12 shooting and 1-7 from three-point range by the Syracuse defense. The Orange forced 15 turnovers in total as well.
Most of the first half was a back and forth affair, with each team going on runs at different points. However, the Panthers ended the first half on a 14-4 run to take an eight point edge into halftime.
Part of the reason for the Pitt run was the defensive intensity from the Orange wained. To start the second half, however, it came back. The defense sparked a 16-2 run to give Syracuse the lead back albeit only by three points.
The rest of the second half was a close contest, but the Orange maintained the lead throughout. Over the final five minutes, however, Syracuse took control and pushed the lead to eight with under three minutes left. It grew to 10 with under a minute to go, but some sloppy turnovers gave Pitt a chance to trim the lead to three with under 30 seconds left. The shot missed and Syracuse made free throws to seal the deal.
Syracuse outscored Pitt 51-35 in the second half, shooting 52% from the floor after intermission.
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