Often this season it has seemed that the Pitt Panthers go as Jamel Artis goes.
On Saturday at Syracuse Artis was very good and so were the Panthers.
Artis finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Panthers defeated the Orange 66-52 Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome, keeping their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
That included a tie-breaking three-pointer with 6:55 left that gave Pitt a 48-45 lead. The Panthers outscored Syracuse 18-7 the rest of the way.
James Robinson also finished in double figures for Pitt (19-7, 8-6 ACC) with 13 while Michael Young finished with eight points and 13 rebounds.
Tyler Lydon came off the bench to lead Syracuse with 21 points, while Michael Gbinije also finished in double figures with 10.
The Panthers have won four straight games and are 14-6 overall with a 7-2 mark at the Carrier Dome against Syracuse under Jamie Dixon.
Syracuse (18-10, 8-7 ACC) lost its second straight after a five-game winning streak.
Crashing the Glass- For the second time this season Pitt absolutely crushed Syracuse on the glass, outrebounding the Orange 42-23 on the afternoon. That total also included a 14-6 edge in terms of offensive rebounds.
Field goal defense- For a rare change this season the Panthers defended well, holding Syracuse to just 37.3 percent from the floor and just 26.9 percent from behind the arc.
Meanwhile Pitt shot 46.2 percent from the floor and 34.8 percent from three-point range.
Syracuse’s top four scorers – Gbinije, Malachi Richardson, Trevor Cooney and Tyler Roberson – were held in check the entire game.
Up Next: Pitt returns home with a tough test against N0. 18 Louisville. The Cardinals erased a second-half double-digit deficit Saturday and rallied to beat No. 20 Duke.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
