Orange Unable to Answer Panther’s Late-Game Offensive Surge, Falling 83-77

Story and photo by Emily Dick.

Pittsburgh, Pa. -- It’s been a tough week for the Syracuse Men’s basketball team.

In front of a sold-out Petersen Events Center, the Orange (15-8, 6-4 ACC) lost to the Pittsburgh Panthers (16-8, 5-5 ACC), 83-77, in a back and forth battle that came down to the final minute Saturday.

Just three days earlier, Syracuse had announced a self-imposed NCAA ban for undisclosed violations, none involving current players.

Ask Jim Boeheim if the announcement served as a distraction for his players, and his answer is simple.

“This team has played hard all year, they’ll play hard all year,” Boeheim said after the game.

And that’s exactly what the team did against Pitt.

Strong Start

Syracuse came out strong and fought off a sporadic Pitt offense in the first half, but foul trouble and inconsistent long-range shooting ultimately hurt the Orange.

The Orange took and early nine-point lead in the first half, when junior Michael Gbinije scored his first six points in the first six minutes of the game.

After that, Syracuse answered a series of Pitt rallies to hold a two-point lead at halftime, 40-38.

The second half started the same way for the Orange. Syracuse extended its lead to six points, but this time the Panthers would not go away.

Panthers Standouts

Starting forward Jamel Artis has averaged more than 20 points a game in his last six games, and scored another 20 Saturday night. Junior transfer Sheldon Jeter came off the bench to score 18 points in only 23 minutes.

Michael Young also added 13 points, and the three combined for what ended up making the difference for the Panthers.

After a made free throw by Christmas, the game was tied at 73. That’s when Jeter made a break to the basket and dished it to Artis for an easy layup to give the Panthers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Syracuse attempted to tie it up when Gbinije made a move down the baseline, but Young spiked the ball away and Pitt regained possession.

Gbinije made a layup with 52 seconds left to make it a three-point game, but Artis had a layup and Jeter added a free throw to secure the win.
 

Foul Trouble

With nearly four minutes left in regulation, Gbinije, Rakeem Christmas and Trevor Cooney all had four personal fouls. Cooney committed his fourth foul with more than 13 minutes to play and was benched for a short time before returning to the game. He struggled from deep only going 1-7.

Christmas had a double-double, 23 points and 12 rebounds, but was unable to stop Pitt from attacking the paint late in the game.

Gbinije also recorded 23 points for the Orange, but was unable to make free throws late in the game. He shot 2-5 from the line.

Again, the thin Syracuse bench did little to help the offense, only scoring three points, compared to the 33 the Panthers bench added. Chris Jones chipped in 15 points in 30 minutes in addition to Jeter's 18. Ron Patterson (2 points in 16 minutes) and B.J. Johnson (one point in 7 minutes) were the only Orange bench players to get in the game.
 

Going Forward

"Stuff happens that's out of your control," Christmas said, when asked about his past week. "You play through it."

Boeheim did not want to talk about the NCAA investigation after the game, but did make it clear that the team is not worried.

“I know what I’ve done, and I know what we’ll do. And I’m proud of it.”

He also said he doesn’t give a (expletive) what the critics say about his team.

The Orange men play at Boston College this Wednesday and have eight more games until the season comes to an end against North Carolina State.