Lydon's Career Day Not Enough vs. Pitt

Saturday, February 20

Syracuse, N.Y.

2:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(18-10) (8-7)

Pittsburgh

(19-7) (8-6)

Pitt

Syracuse

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

2/20/2016 5:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Orange rookie scores in double figures for 14th time this season

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Freshman Tyler Lydon scored a career-high 21 points, but it wasn't enough as Pittsburgh (19-7, 8-6 ACC) dealt Syracuse (18-10, 8-7 ACC) a 66-52 loss in front of a season-high crowd of 28,696 at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Feb. 20. The loss ended Syracuse's five-game home winning streak and it marked Pittsburgh's fourth consecutive win against the Orange.

Lydon was a career-best 8-for-12 shooting from the floor, including a career-high four 3-pointers. He was one of two Orange players in double figures. Michael Gbinije contributed 10 points against the Panthers to surpass the 1,000-point mark for his career. In 111 games for Duke and Syracuse, Gbinije has 1,005 points, including 972 in an Orange uniform.

Early on it appeared Syracuse would have its way with its long-time rival. The Orange hit three of its first four shots, including 3-pointers by Gbinije and Trevor Cooney, to open up a 9-2 lead a little more than three minutes into the contest. A DaJuan Coleman free throw pushed the advantage to eight at the 15:58 mark, and the hosts were still up seven, 20-13, with 10:38 left in the opening half.

After struggling to score in the early going, the Panthers made five consecutive field goals, including a 3-pointer by Cameron Johnson at the 7:40 mark that gave Pittsburgh its first lead of the contest, 21-20. The scoring spurt was part of a 17-2 run by the Panthers that resulted in a 30-22 advantage for the visitors.

A Lydon triple with 2:03 left in the half stopped the Pittsburgh surge, and another Lydon 3-pointer seven seconds before halftime made the score 30-28 Panthers at the break.

Lydon continued to spark the Orange offense in the second half. The Elizaville, N.Y. product scored eight of SU's first 13 points after intermission, and his 3-pointer with 8:42 to go put Syracuse up 43-42, forcing Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon to call timeout.

Dixon settled his team during the stoppage and the Panthers responded by scoring 10 of the game's next 12 points. Overall, Pittsburgh outscored the Orange 24-9 over the final 7:45 to record the victory. Syracuse missed eight of its last 10 shots and went without a field goal for nearly six minutes after a Coleman dunk tied the score at 45-all with 7:15 to play.

Jamel Artis and James Robinson paced the Panthers. Artis recorded a double-double with a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Robinison finished with 13 points and dished out five assists. The duo combined for half of Pittsburgh's 24 field goals and six of its eight made 3-pointers in the contest. The pair tallied Pittsburgh's first 16 points of the game. It wasn't until a layup by Michael Young at the 8:39 mark of the opening stanza that someone other than Robinson or Artis scored for the Panthers.

Pittsburgh shot 46.2 percent (24-52) from the floor. The Panthers began the game 1-for-11 (.091), but made 56.1 percent (23-41) of their shots the rest of the way. Syracuse was 19-of-51 (.373) shooting, including 7-of-26 (.269) from behind the 3-point arc.

In addition to their hot shooting, the Panthers also controlled the glass, outrebounding the Orange, 43-23. Young led Pittsburgh with a game-high 13 boards to go along with eight points. Coleman was Syracuse's top rebounder. He matched his season-high with eight caroms and added two blocked shots.

Syracuse has now lost back-to-back games for the first time since early January. The Orange look to end their skid Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Carrier Dome when they host NC State in their home finale. Tip time is 2 p.m. on the ACC Network.