Pitt fends off Syracuse, snaps 4-game losing streak
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Earlier this week, while acknowledging his team’s frustrating four-game losing streak, Pitt senior guard Ishmael Leggett insisted the Panthers’ goals remained within grasp.
“I definitely think our goals are still attainable,” Leggett said Thursday after practice at Petersen Events Center. “At this point in the season, I think we’re just focused on the next game and that’s how it should be, honestly.”
It’s too early to tell whether those goals — including a berth in the NCAA Tournament — are indeed still on the table, but for now, Pitt at least managed to stop the bleeding with a 77-73 win over Syracuse on Saturday at JMA Wireless Dome.
Jaland Lowe (22 points), Leggett (16), Cameron Corhen (12), Damian Dunn (10) and Zack Austin (10) propelled the Panthers to a much-needed win.
The victory is Pitt’s first since Jan. 4, as it improved to 13-6 overall and 4-4 in the ACC.
“It feels good,” Austin said on 93.7 FM after the win. “That’s what we’ve been trying to do for the last few weeks now, trying to get that monkey off our back (and) playing a full 40 (minutes).
“ … I feel like the last four games we played wasn’t us. I feel like after this win, it’s only going to push us forward to keep winning.”
It was Austin who iced the game for Pitt, fending off one final attempt by the Orange in the closing seconds.
With six seconds left and Pitt up 75-73, Austin hit a pair of free throws to spoil any Syracuse attempt at a game-tying basket.
While the Panthers led for the final 12:18 of the final half, Syracuse refused to go quietly.
Pitt stretched its lead to nine with just under seven minutes to go, but with 4:21 left, the Orange got within four.
For the remainder of the game, it was a thrust-and-parry affair.
An Austin dunk with 30 seconds left looked like it could put Syracuse away for good, but six seconds later, Chris Bell sank a 3-pointer to make it 73-71, extending the drama.
In the end, it was Austin, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half, and Lowe, who contributed 17 of his 22 in the final 20 minutes, who helped get it done for Pitt.
“He’s always there trying to make the right play at the right time,” Austin said of Lowe. “He’s young, he knows the game, he can shoot, pass, dribble — he can do everything on the court. … It’s great having him as our point guard. I feel like he’s one of the top three point guards in the ACC right now.”
Pitt won despite getting outrebounded 48-31.
Orange big man Eddie Lampkin was dominant down low, grabbing 23 rebounds to go with 10 points.
J.J. Starling led Syracuse (9-11, 3-6) with 16 points.
Judging by the start of the game, which saw Syracuse hit 7 of its first 8 shots from the floor en route to taking a 17-10 lead, the Panthers looked to be on a fast track to digging another deep hole, a persistent problem over their recent skid.
But Pitt, which shot 45.9% (28 of 61) from the floor, battled back.
By halftime, the Orange were leading by just 33-32.
“When the game started, they scored a lot of points early,” said Pitt associate head coach Tim O’Toole. “But (in the second half), we kind of got our sea legs about us. … We wanted them to be on their heels a little bit and not the other way around.”