Syracuse men’s basketball: Orange come up just short against Pitt, fall 77-73

A historic effort from Eddie Lampkin wasn’t enough

Syracuse Orange men’s basketball (9-11, 3-6) failed to secure a needed ACC win against the Pittsburgh Panthers (13-6, 4-4) on Saturday, falling 77-73 in the Dome.

The Orange came into the matchup off the back of a lackluster showing at Clemson, which saw the team concede 86 points despite JJ Starling’s 25-point outing.

The Panthers entered the game on a difficult four-game skid in the ACC but still maintain a much better record than SU’s sub-500 tally. Ranked earlier in the season, the game would provide a great chance for Pitt to bounce back.

With Donnie Freeman missing his sixth consecutive game, the Orange ran out a starting lineup of Starling, Elijah Moore, Lucas Taylor, Jyare Davis, and Eddie Lampkin.

After losing both matchups last season with underwhelming offensive performances, the Panthers were clearly motivated and came out punching as the team grabbed the opening basket and immediately initiated a high-intensity press.

JJ Starling responded for the Orange, and Jyare Davis scored five in the opening two minutes as the team rushed out to a 10-4 lead.

The Orange were feeling good and hit their first three attempts from behind the arc to get things rolling. In fact, it seemed like everything, from both teams’ shots to loose balls, was falling their way to start.

The teams traded buckets in the following minutes as Pitt’s Cam Corhen was able to use his size against smaller SU forwards to post six of Pitt’s first 12 ponts.

Despite the early lead, the Orange defense appeared to become weary early on as the Panthers brought high intensity on both sides. A few blow-bys from the Pitt guards got them back in the lead as the score read 18-19 with 11 minutes left in the half.

At this point, the Orange opted for a larger lineup which saw Chris Bell in at the three, Petar Majstorovic at the four, and Lampkin at center. This tactical shift payed off for Head Coach Adrian Autry as Majstorovic scored six and added a few rebounds and assists as Cuse re-took the lead down the stretch whilst dominating the boards.

The pace of the game slowed down through the last five minutes of the half, with both teams struggling for easy buckets. Although there was a small flurry of scores in the final minute, the halftime score read 33-32 in favor of the hosts.

The Orange were largely aided by their dominance on the boards, out rebounding Pitt 23-16. Lampkin was particularly relentless, giving SU extra opportunities and allowing them to keep the lead. He finished the half with 12 rebounds, absolutely dominating Pitt’s bigs who could not cope with his size and strength.

While Pitt was statistically one of the most efficient shooting teams in the ACC going into this game, the Orange defense limited outside opportunities and congested the paint, making things tough for the Panthers who shot 33% overall and 22% from three in the half.

The second half started with a big dunk for Pitt’s Corhen to retake the lead, but SU responded with a few with buckets of their own from Starling and Taylor.

It was only a few minutes into the half that Lampkin reached his career high in rebounds at 15, eclipsing his previous record from his time at Colorado.

The Houston-born center showed tremendous grit and tenacity throughout the game, firing up the Cuse crowd on multiple occasions with tough plays and difficult put-backs.

The Orange continued to struggle slowing down Leggett and Corhen, who kept combining and finding their way to the rim on offense. SU was able to match pace early on, with points coming from across the lineup, but as time wore on, they struggled to keep up.

Pitt’s stars began to get more confident and their shots just kept falling as star men Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett kept created many scoring opportunities. Lowe scored nine in the first eight minutes of the half after struggling in the first.

This success opened up the floor for his teammates as Pitt would take a 53-45 lead with just over 10 minutes left, their largest of the afternoon.

A Chris Bell three following a Lucas Taylor layup cut the lead back down to three, sending the Cuse crowd into raptures, but Pitt’s shots had begun falling, and the Orange continued to struggle to close the gap.

Pitt answered with a 8-2 run of their own, and the Orange were down eight with eight minutes to go. JJ Starling provided a spark for the team with a few difficult buckets, but SU failed to get enough traction to get back in the game depite a few other big plays.

A pair of missed free throws from Pitt got the crowd hyped, and when Chris Bell hit the three on the other side of the court, the Dome got almost as loud as it has been all season. The five-point swing saw the Orange get back into the game with a score of 61-65 with 4:20 left.

A real mood-killer in the Dome came with 2:20 left when Pitt’s Zack Austin hit a big three to put his team up 64-70. The Orange got a bucket back through Majstorovic, but with time winding down, Pitt just had to chew down the clock and manage the game.

With a few sloppy posessions by each side, the Orange had the ball with 40 seconds left down 66-71 and the game on the line. Starling was sent to the line where he hit both shots, cutting the lead to three with thirty seconds left.

The Panthers went down and Zack Austin slammed home, but Cuse came right back down the court for a bucket. A Chris Bell pump-fake sent two defenders flying by before the California native hit a big shot to to set the score at 71-73 with 17 seconds left.

The Orange intentionally fouled, Lowe hit his shots, Majstorovic hit a dramatic shot for the Orange, but it was too little too late and the Panthers saw the game out with the final score reading 73-77 in favor of the visitors.

Standout Stats:

Eddie Lampkin stood out for the Orange for his effort on the afternoon, but his stats also back up his terrific performance. The center finished with 10 points and a career-high 23 rebounds. This performance tied for the third-best single-game rebounding performance in school history.

Petar Majstorovic also enjoyed one of his best outings in an SU jersey with a career-high 10 points coupled with five boards.

The stars showed out for Pitt as they had four players in double-digit scoring. Star men Lowe (19pts, 5ast) and Leggett (16pts, 6reb) showed out while Corhen (12pts, 7reb) also had a strong outings.

The Orange dominated the boards on the day with 48 to Pitt’s 31. The team also shot 40% from the field, 34% from three, and 61% from the line.

While Pitt shot an abysmal 22% from three and 33% from the field in the first half, they turned things around in the second where they improved their totals to 33% from three and 46% from the field.

Pitt also only turned the ball over three times whereas the Orange had 11.

Next Time Out

Following this narrow loss, the Orange will make the long trip out west for matchups against Stanford and Cal. Syracuse takes on Stanford at 11 pm EST on Wednesday evening and Cal on Saturday at 10 pm. Stay tuned for updates on those matchups and all things SU Basketball.