Orangemen Rally to Defeat Pittsburgh, 71-66
1/6/2001 12:10:51 PM | Men's Basketball
Allen Griffins basket with 3:48 left to play gave the Orangemen their first lead, 59-58. Syracuse would maintain the advantage for the rest of the game.
Pittsburgh led 33-18 in the first half and by 14 points twice in the first five minutes of the second half. The Orangemen switched to a full-court press to disrupt the Pittsburgh offense and ultimately scored 20 points off turnovers in the second half. Free throw shooting also helped SU rally. The Orangemen shot 74 percent from the charity stripe, converting 26-of-35 attempts.
Syracuse outscored Pittsburgh 18-8 during the last eight minutes of the contest. Preston Shumpert scored five of his team-high 20 points during the Oranges closing run.
In the first half Syracuse was 6-of-22 from the field and was outscored 16-6 in the paint. Conversely, in the second half, the Orangemen scored 22 points in the paint to the Panthers 16
Jeremy McNeil made his first collegiate start for the Orangemen and finished with a career-high six points.
The win was Syracuses sixth consecutive victory against Pittsburgh and seventh in a row on the Panthers home court.
