'Cuse Comes Up Short at Pitt, 72-61

Wednesday, December 30

Pittsburgh, Pa.

9:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(10-4, 0-1)

Pittsburgh

(11-1, 1-0)

Syracuse

Pitt

12/30/2015 11:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Syracuse men's basketball team put up a battle against Pittsburgh in its first ACC matchup of the season, but ultimately fell short 72-61 on Wednesday night at the Petersen Events Center.

Tied at the half with 30 apiece, the Orange (10-4, 0-1) and the Panthers (11-1, 1-0) fought back and forth throughout the second half, but a final 14-2 push by Pitt with just under three minutes left to play proved to be the deciding factor in the outcome of the game.

Grad student Trevor Cooney and junior Tyler Roberson racked up 15 points each for the Orange, with Roberson pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. Grad student Michael Gbinije added 14 points while dishing out seven assists.

The Panthers jumped out to a 13-5 lead to start off the contest, but the Orange soon bounced back, cutting the Pitt lead down to two off of a three by Cooney at the 12:02 mark, 15-13. Syracuse found its way back into the game with 8:03 left in the opening half, as freshman Tyler Lydon knotted it up off of a layup to even the score at 20.

Syracuse closed the first half with an 8-2 run, as a free throw from Gbinije tied the game up again at the 30-point mark heading into the locker rooms at the half.

Syracuse continued to surge kicking off the second half, with Cooney racking up his third 3-pointer and 12th point of the night to push the Orange to a five-point lead, 37-32. The Orange found its largest lead of the game thanks to six unanswered points that built an eight-point advantage at the 14:28 mark, 43-35.

The Panthers fought back, taking off on a 15-5 run and stealing the lead, 50-48, with 8:50 left to play. It was a back and forth battle from there on out heading into the final minutes of the contest, as the two squads continued to exchange leads. Pitt, however, took charge in the final three minutes, going on a 9-0 run to bring a 67-59 Panther lead with just over a minute left to play.

A pair of free throws by Lydon cut the Pitt lead down to eight, 69-61, but it proved to be the last chance the Orange would get, as the Panthers finished with a 72-61 advantage over the Orange.

Syracuse heads back on the road to take on Miami on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 2:30 p.m. in Coral Gables, Fla.