WASHINGTON, D.C. – Syracuse came up short against
Pittsburgh 72-71, despite diminishing a 12-point Panther lead in the
final four minutes of the contest on Wednesday afternoon in the second
round of the ACC Tournament at the Verizon Center.
A 7-0 run by
Pitt in a span of less than a minute gave the Panthers a 12-point lead
approaching the four-minute mark, resulting in an Orange timeout, 66-54.
The Orange came bouncing back, as freshman Malachi Richardson registered his second three of the game at the 3:14 mark to make it a seven-point game. A 3-pointer by grad student Michael Gbinije brought it within four with 2:31 left, 68-64.
A
big dunk by Gbinije tied it up at 68 with two minutes left, and the two
teams proceeded to hold each other scoreless for almost a minute before
Pitt got back on board with a layup and a jumper with 22 seconds left,
72-68. Four seconds later, Gbinije made it a one-point game with his
fourth three of the contest, 72-71. The score remained the same heading
into the final seconds, as a last-second three by grad student Trevor Cooney fell short, finalizing a one-point victory for Pitt.
Gbinije
led the Orange with 24 points on the afternoon, as he finished 9-17
from the field and 4-6
from 3-point range. Richardson added 13 points,
while freshman Franklin Howard dished out a team-high five assists.
DaJuan Coleman played a major role down low, registering his first double-double of the season with 11 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
Richardson
tallied the first basket of the game after nearly three minutes of
play, and a trey from Gbinije started the Orange on a 5-2 lead. Two
3-point buckets by Cooney extended the lead 11-4, marking six unanswered
points from 'Cuse just under the 13-minute mark.
The Orange
used a 12-4 run in the heart of the first half to bring a 17-8 lead with
8:57 left to play, highlighted by two 3-pointers from Cooney.
A
3-point basket from Gbinije gave Syracuse its largest lead of the game
at the 7:07 mark, 22-12. The Panthers cut the Orange lead to five off of
a Cameron Johnson three with 4:16 left in the half, 26-21. Johnson
continued to produce, knotting it up at 26 with another 3-pointer with
just over three minutes left to play.
The Panthers snatched its
first lead of the game at the 2:22 mark thanks to a jumper by Sheldon
Jeter, and another three by Jamel Artis made it 31-27 Pitt with 1:41
left. Coleman gave the Orange its last shot of the opening half, making
it a two-point game 31-29 heading into the locker rooms.
Gbinije finished the first half 5-7 from field goal range, leading the Orange with 12 points.
The
Orange brought it within two again to start the half, but a quick 5-0
run by the Panthers made it a seven-point game, 41-34, forcing a 'Cuse
timeout at the 16:50 mark. The Panthers continued the surge, extending
the lead to 11 off of a dunk by Johnson to trigger another Orange
timeout less than two minutes after the first.
Pitt didn't let
up, as a 3-pointer by James Robinson extended a 12-0 run, marking the
largest lead of the game at the 14:26 mark, 48-34. A dunk by Coleman
broke the Pitt run, and the Orange continued to cut the lead down to 10
with just under 12 minutes left to play, 50-40.
The Orange came
within reach with a three by Richardson marking eight unanswered points,
while bringing 'Cuse within six at the 11:24 mark, 50-44. Syracuse
didn't let up heading into the single-digit minutes, as freshman Tyler Lydon diminished the Pitt lead to five off of a 3-pointer with 7:29 left to play, 56-51.
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