Orange Use 12 3-Pointers to Defeat Pitt, 74-63

Saturday, January 19

Syracuse, N.Y.

2 PM

Syracuse University

(13-5) (4-1)

Pittsburgh

(12-6) (2-3)

Pittsburgh

Syracuse

1/19/2019 3:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In front of the largest on-campus crowd in the NCAA this season, Syracuse (13-5, 4-1 ACC) tied a season-high with 12 three-pointers on its way to a 74-63 victory against Pittsburgh (12-6, 2-3 ACC) Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome.

Despite the forecast of inclement weather, a crowd of 24,466 was announced, passing the 24,082 the Orange had for its encounter with Buffalo on Dec. 18.

Tyus Battle went 9-of-17 on the day for a game-high 21 points. Freshman Buddy Boeheim posted a career-high 13 points., which included a 4-of-5 effort on 3-point attempts. Oshae Brissett and Frank Howard rounded out the four players in double-digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Paschal Chukwu snatched 11 rebounds, his second consecutive double-digit board effort (he had 18 at Duke on Jan. 14). He also added six points and three blocks.

Pittsburgh was led by the scoring duo of Jared Wilson-Frame and Xavier Johnson who contributed 19 and 17 points, respectively. Wilson also pulled in eight rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After holding just a three-point, 28-25, lead after the first half, Syracuse quickly opened a gap with a 22-4 run to open the second half. The three-point barrage that began in the first half continued as Hughes and Howard sunk back-to-back 3-pointers to open Syracuse's scoring. Battle followed with a consecutive baskets and then found Chukwu for a dunk to push the Orange ahead 40-27. 'Cuse continued to storm ahead with two more 3-pointers from Battle that extending the lead to 19, 50-31. During the seven-minute run, the Orange were 7-of-8 while holding Pitt to a 1-of-8 effort.

COACH BOEHEIM THOUGHTS
""I thought the difference in the second half was that our defense was good and we hit a couple of shots. I think Tyus (Battle) and Frank (Howard) hit one and we got a little space. They are a really good team. They are coming at you just about as hard as you can come and play, but I thought we did a lot of good things. We can't miss 11 free throws and we've done that a couple of times this year. When you have a 12- or 14-point game, you have to make those down the stretch."

FIRST HALF FIRING
Down 11-10, the Orange quickly found their stride behind the three-point line thanks to a 5-of-8 shooting performance. The three-point accuracy boosted 'Cuse to a 21-5 run and a 28-16 lead, its largest of the half. The hot stretch included four-consecutive made three-pointers from Battle, Boehiem and Howard.

Battle led the Orange during the run with seven points, followed by Boeheim's six. The Orange staunch defense held Pittsburgh to 2-of-15 shooting and six turnovers in an 11-minute stretch.

PITT RUN
The Panthers did not go down quietly, stringing together several counter attacks that hreaten the Orange until late in the second half. Pitt closed out the first half on a 9-0 run, holding Syracuse scoreless for the final two and half minutes, and narrowing the halftime deficit to three, 28-25.

Following Syracuse's massive 22-4 run in the second half, the Panthers tried to claw back with a 10-0 stretch that closed the gap to 10, 59-49. Xavier Johnson led the way with back-to-back baskets. Despite two buckets from the Orange, Pitt continued what looked to be an upward trend with six more unanswered points and a 64-55 deficit. 'Cuse did what it needed to from the free throw line, connecting on eight of its final 10 free throws to secure the 11-point victory.

OF NOTE

The 24,466 fans in attendance marks the largest on campus crowd in the NCAA this season and the sixth game where Syracuse has drawn more than 20,000 fans.
The Orange shot 12-of-26 from beyond the arc for a season-high 46.2 percent. Twelve of the Orange's 25 field goals came from three-point range.
Chukwu and Brissett each recorded three blocks on the way to a season-high 10 for the Orange.
Syracuse moved to 69-45 in the all-time series with its third win in a row over the Panthers
Battle was 0-of-5 in the first 15 minutes of the game before shooting 9-of-12 the rest of the way.
Marek Dolezaj contributed a season-high five assists, tied for game-best honors with Howard.
The Orange forced 17 turnovers from the Panthers. Syracuse has forced 11 or more turnovers from its opponents in all 18 games this season.
Eight of the Orange's nine players who saw action Saturday recorded at least four points.

UP NEXT
Syracuse welcomes Miami to the Carrier Dome on Thursday, Jan. 24 for an 8 p.m. tip. The matchup will be broadcast on Raycom. Tickets can be purchased online at cuse.com/tickets, by phone at 1-888-DOMETIX or in person at Gate B at the Carrier Dome.