Fresh off of being named the ACC Player of the Week, Pitt Panthers forward Jamel Artis might be looking for even bigger conference honors based on his performance in a 72-61 victory over the Syracuse Orange. Artis led the No. 25 Panthers (11-1, 1-0 ACC) with 18 points and just missed out on a rare college triple double, posting nine rebounds and eight assists while the Panthers would outscore the Orange (10-4, 0-1) 14-3 over the last 3:54 to seal the victory.
Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon knows that winning against a quality program like Syracuse is a big test for the Panthers, and was happy they were up to the challenge.
“They have a lot of good team wins so far against Connecticut and Texas A&M,” Dixon said. “We just stayed with it.”
Michael Young scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, while Sheldon Jeter chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds for the Panthers who have beaten the Orange in three straight meetings. Trevor Cooney went 3 for 5 from three-point range, scoring 15 points and adding six rebounds in the losing effort for the Orange.
Life without Robinson — With ultra-reliable point guard James Robinson having to sit out much of the first half with two early fouls, the Panthers were able to stay afloat, outscoring the Orange 20-18 over the 11:04 Robinson was out. The Panthers struggled to make shots consistently in the first half, going 11-32 (34.4 percent) but were able to fight through the rough shooting thanks to a decisive 25-13 rebounding advantage in the first half.
Panthers utilize their depth to wear down Orange — While Syracuse essentially relied on six players for the majority of its minutes, Pitt got six minuties or more from 10 different players and that depth paid significant dividends. Dixon noted that the bench was a huge advantage for Pitt.
“I thought our bench was terrific, attitude, energy, staying with it,” Dixon said.
The Panthers bench would outscore the Orange 26-5 and provided energy that the Orange simple could not match down the stretch. Freshman Damon Wilson and Cameron Johnson provided some valuable minutes with both Robinson and Chris Jones struggling with foul trouble.
Rebounding and second chance points tell the tale — The Panthers dominated the glass, outrebounding the Orange 43-25 while winning the offensive rebounding stat 19-8. In fact, Pitt had more offensive rebounds than Syracuse had defensive rebounds. As critical as the rebounding advantage was for the Panthers, outscoring the Orange 22-2 in second chance points might have been the biggest difference in the win.
Pitt strong second half shooting makes the difference — After struggling to make first-half shots and heading the locker rooms at halftime tied at 30, Pitt was able to shoot nearly 50 percent in the second half to turn a tight contest into a comfortable win. Much of this happened thanks to the strong play of the multi-faceted Artis and the second-half scoring surge of Young.
Up Next — The Panthers will host Maryland-Eastern Shore at the Pete this Saturday with tip time set for 4 p.m.
