A promising first half for Syracuse basketball was spoiled by Pitt’s clutch free throws and solid two-headed guard play, 77 to 73.
Takeaway #1: Helping out J.J.
A 13-2 run early. ‘Cuse made their first three threes. And in the first half the Orange had the lead, 33-32. J.J. Starling only shot twice, with three points to his name. But he got help from the rest of the Orange, with Jyare Davis, Lucas Taylor, and Elijah Moore hitting some shots. But it was Petar Majstorovic with ten points off the bench that provided the spark ‘Cuse needed to keep them in the game.
“Guys put me in the position to have open shots,” said Majstorovic. “I just try to play like usual.”
Starling ended up finishing with 16 points on 5 of 13 shooting. Four other Orange joined him in double figures. Three point shooting alone was enough to keep them in this game, where they chucked up a season high 32 threes. They made 11 of them. They’ve shot relatively well from deep over the past couple games. But it’s not well enough to beat Pitt.
Takeaway #2: Pitt’s free throws came back when they needed them to
It’s the Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett show in Pittsburgh. Every punch Syracuse threw, the Panthers responded with a punch of their own. But it wasn’t a textbook outing for Jeff Capel’s crew. They came into this game the best free throw shooting team in the ACC, and a Top 10 free throw shooting team in the country at 79.1%. But before the end of the game free throws to keep the lead extended, Pitt was 11 for 17 from the line (65%). Even Jaland Lowe, a 91% free throw shooter, missed three of his nine free throws. But when they needed the free throws most, Zack Austin hit them both to make it a two possession game late.
“I’m glad Zack (Austin) made his,” said Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel. “Guy that’s one of the best in the league, Jaland (Lowe), missed. For Zack to step up in that situation was huge for us.”
Takeaway #3: Chairman of the Boards
A career high for Eddie Lampkin Jr. with 23 rebounds. He hit his career mark (15) with 16 minutes left in the second half. And Syracuse outrebounded Pitt 45-31. On the offensive glass, they won the battle 17 to 9. But some late boards went the Panthers way that swung the game in favor of Pitt.
“We lost the game because we didn’t rebound when we needed to,” coach Autry said.
Rebounding has been a strong suit of Syracuse’s game this season. They rank in the Top 120 of Division I teams in rebounds (33.8 a game). But they couldn’t get it done when it mattered. The box score shows a winner in the boards column, but Autry disagrees.
Syracuse needs to find something in their west coast swing this week. They’ll face ACC newcomers Stanford and Cal on the road.
Next up for Syracuse basketball (9-11, 3-6): at Stanford (13-6, 5-3) – Jan. 29 at 11 p.m. EST
Next up for for Pitt basketball (13-6, 4-4): vs. North Carolina (12-8, 5-3) – Jan. 28 at 9 p.m. EST
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