No. 22 Pitt and No. 2 Syracuse hooked things up Saturday afternoon in what was the early ACC Game of the Year.
Watching the two teams play, it was an ACC game in name early as for 40 minutes it seemed liked just another Big East Conference battle as it turned out to be another Pitt-Syracuse classic.
However Syracuse freshman point guard Tyler Ennis played like a senior down the stretch, making two big baskets and sinking two huge free-throws as the Orange stayed unbeaten, handing Pitt their first ACC loss 59-56 at the Carrier Dome.
The game was a predictable Pitt-Syracuse tight one all the way through.
The Orange led 25-21 at the half as both teams had a difficult time getting good looks against the other teams’ defense.
But once Pitt sophomore point guard James Robinson picked up his third foul at the 17:40 mark of the second half, Syracuse (18-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) looked like they would blow the game wide open. The Orange went on a 9-0 run over the course of the next three minutes to extend their lead to 37-27.
Robinson came back in and then Pitt’s Lamar Patterson went nuts.
Patterson, who scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, knocked down deep three pointers on three straight Pitt (16-2, 4-1) possessions to pull the Panthers back within 39-36.
Things stayed real tight until Patterson’s fourth three of the half gave Pitt 49-48 lead with just 5:48 left to play.
The Panthers held the lead until under two minutes left when Ennis made a layup that gave Syracuse a 53-52. The freshman made it a three-point game with another layup and after Pitt’s Michael Young made to pull Pitt within one at 55-54 with five seconds remaining, Ennis calmly stepped to the line and knocked down a pair to pretty much ice the game.
Pitt outworked Syracuse on the glass, outrebounding them 35-24, including grabbing 16 offensive rebounds.
However the difference was the fact that Syracuse was able to execute in the final two minutes and Pitt did not as their last field goal came on the Patterson three pointer to give them the lead with almost six minutes left.
The leading field-goal percentage team in the ACC, the Panthers shot only 38.3 percent (18-for-47) against the Syracuse zone, while Pitt allowed the Orange to shoot 51.2 percent (21-for-41) on the day. The Panthers attacked the Syracuse zone effectively for most of the afternoon, but missed countless easy layups early on that came back to bite them.
In addition to Patterson’s big game, Pitt also got a big afternoon from Talib Zanna, who continues to play well in ACC play as the senior finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Orange had four players in double figures, led by Ennis with 16 and C.J. Fair with 13.
Despite defeat, the Panthers showed they can play with any team in the country as the two Pitt losses have come by a combined five points.
Pitt will get the chance to avenge their first ACC loss on Tuesday when they play host to Clemson at the Petersen Events Center.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
