Syracuse Dominates Second Half vs Pitt to Snap Three Game Losing Streak
Syracuse had a 10-2 run at the end of the first half and a 16-3 spurt to start the second half as the Orange knocked off Pittsburgh 77-61 in the Carrier Dome Tuesday night. With the win, Syracuse improves to 8-8 (2-3) on the season. The Panthers drop to 6-10 (1-4). Next up for Syracuse is a home game against Florida State on Saturday, January 15th. That game tips at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
Syracuse controlled the action for the first 10 minutes of the game, holding a 19-11 lead. Pitt battled back behind a 13-0 run to take a seven point lead with less than four minutes left in the first half. That is when the Orange took control of the game. A 10-2 run to end the first half gave Syracuse a one point halftime edge. The run extended to 26-5 through the first six minutes of the second half and the lead grew to double digits.
Pittsburgh would never seriously challenge again.
Joe Girard scored all eight of his points during that run. He struggled shooting the ball again, going just 2-6 from the floor and 0-3 from three point range. Symir Torrence played 12 quality minutes, scoring five points to go along with one assist and one steal.
Buddy Boeheim led all scorers with 24 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. He was 7-13 from the floor and 5-8 from beyond the arc. Jesse Edwards played 32 minutes but fouled out for the fifth straight game. He finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Edwards defense on Pitt star John Hugley was key. Hugley came in averaging nearly 16 points per game as one of the top scoring big men in the ACC. Edwards helped hold him to eight points on 1-6 shooting.
Jimmy Boeheim also had a strong game, with 18 points, even rebounds and three assists on 6-9 shooting.
Syracuse shot 51% from the floor compared to just 38% for Pittsburgh. The Syracuse defense was very good in the second half, holding the Panthers to 24% shooting overall and 20% from three point range. Syracuse also won the rebounding battle 30-29 and dominated scoring in the paint 32-16.
