Syracuse and Pittsburgh played a high-scoring, defense-lacking, primetime matchup late Tuesday night. In their second ACC matchup of the season, the Orange fell behind early and were not able to recover.
The Panthers began the game five of 12 from beyond the arc and jumped ahead. Down by as much as 20 points in the second half, the Orange clawed their way back into the ball game with some much needed aid from their premier backcourt.
Joe Girard III’s 16 points and stellar heroics in the last two minutes of the game gave Syracuse the ball with 17.9 seconds left. Star freshman Judah Mintz coughed up the ball causing Syracuse to foul and send Pitt to the free throw line with six seconds remaining. After one of two free throws were made, the score read 84-82 Panthers.
Syracuse inbounded the ball from the backcourt, but Mintz’s 20-footer was well short of the cylinder.
Former Colgate standout Nelly Cummings and Blake Hinson combined for 47 points in Pitt’s 84-82 win over the Orange.
Syracuse pushed the tempo early on, but every time they threw a punch, the Panthers would throw one back. In the first frame, Pittsburgh shot 42.1% from three-point land, knocking down eight of 19 attempts. Syracuse was just one of 12.
But as the second half rolled around, the Orange flipped a switch and were able to battle back. Mintz and Girard III combined for 28 second half points with a little help from Quadir Copeland’s eight, including his four-point play.
“I thought the last group played as hard as they can play and got us back in there, but you cannot start the game out [like that],” said Head Coach Jim Boeheim.
Without an offensive or defensive game plan, the Orange were outmatched and outplayed at one critical position: forward. Hinson outrebounded both of starting Syracuse’s forwards 13-1. Boeheim continues to be unimpressed with his forwards.
“We just had no effort from our forwards,” Boeheim said. “It is hard to watch. [Quadir] is six-foot-four. He came in and got six rebounds in 12 minutes,” said Boeheim. “Benny and Chris got one rebound between the two of them, each with 13 minutes. You cannot win that way. It was really hard to watch that as a coach.”
With ACC play looming large, the Orange will have to adjust their aggressiveness at the rim and learn how to play a full 40 minutes, meaning no more come-from-behind basketball.
Syracuse takes on Boston College next on New Year’s Eve at 2:00 p.m. in the JMA Wireless Dome.