SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Pittsburgh Panthers took down the Syracuse Orange basketball team 71-69 in overtime in what was the final home game of the regular season. Nojus Indrusaitas had the go-ahead bucket as William Kyle was called for a goaltend with 4.3 seconds left.
Naithan George had a last second heave from half court that missed as Syracuse dropped the 130th all-time meeting between the two programs.
Pittsburgh (12-19, 5-13) was led by Cam Corhen’s 21 points while Barry Dunning Jr. had 17 point and
6 rebounds. It was Senior Day in the JMA Wireless Dome, yet Syracuse (15-16, 6-12) was junior- and sophomore- led for much of the contest.
Kiyan Anthony was sidelined with a lower body injury. Sadiq White, who was listed as questionable with a left shoulder injury, did not play.
Syracuse scored first off the opening tip as Starling connected with Kyle on a dunk. Pittsburgh quickly gained the upper hand, however, executing in its halfcourt offense to own a 16-9 lead at the first media break. Kyle paced Syracuse early with three dunks. Akir Souare, Tyler Betsey and Bryce Zephir checked in first off the bench for Adrian. Starling and Kingz remained. Freeman and George returned at the 10:48 mark for Kingz and Starling.
Syracuse came from nine points down in the first half to tie the game on two separate occasions. The Orange would not regain the lead until 65 seconds remained in the first half. A Souare rejection on Barry Dunning Jr. gave Syracuse a chance to retake the lead, an opportunity George would cash in on as he netted a corner three to put the Orange back in front 31-28. Both teams failed to execute on their final possession of the half as Syracuse went into the break with a three point lead.
Pittsburgh had a 20-15 rebounding edge and 10 second chance points. The Panthers owned a 20-14 points in the paint edge. George led all scorers with a dozen at the half while Freeman had eight points and six rebounds.
George continued his hot shooting out of the break by knocking down a pair of shots but Roman Siulepa and Dunning Jr. each knocked down a threes, the latter giving Pittsburgh the led 36-35. A Cam Corhen dunk pushed the lead to three, resulting in an Autry timeout at the 14:54 mark.
Despite the Orange reset, the strong play from Pittsburgh continued as a 14-2 run authorized a 45-35 Panthers lead. Autry again called timeout – the second to last – with 12:53 to play. Zephir stopped the bleeding on a strong drive and finish after a pump fake in the lane. Syracuse went 2-3 zone on the other end, immediately giving up a Corhen mid-range shot. Pittsburgh extended the lead to 12. A George three got it back to within single digits that ignited an Orange run. A Freeman follow up at the rim and another three by George made it 49-45 with 8:36 to play. The next Freeman layup made it a killshot, capping a 10-0 run. Pittsburgh led 49-47 as Jeff Capel called timeout with 7:41 to play.
Indrusaitas ended the run with a three for Pittsburgh out of the timeout. Freeman connected on two free throws and Tyler Betsey tied it at 52 with a corner three. Souare fouled Dunning Jr. on a three point attempt. Dunning Jr. made all three.
Autry elected to play without a struggling Starling late in the game, who was 0-7 from the floor on the day. It was nip and tuck down the stretch when Nate Kingz hit a three to tie the game, igniting the The t-shirt toss in the dome. Syracuse football coach Fran Brown, sitting in the bleacher section with his son in tow, put his hands up but couldn’t influence a close toss.
Kingz, going left, broke a 61-all tie on a goaltend with 2:31 to play. Dunning Jr. hit a three to take a two point lead until Freeman tied the game at 65 on a pair of free throws. Kingz had a good look at a three with 14 seconds left and missed off the back iron. Dunning Jr. had an opporunity on the other end but missed as the game headed to overtime.
A George baseline jumpshot fell to get things started in the extra period. Indrusaitas answered with a layup on the other end. Damarco Minor gave Pittsburgh a two point lead, Freeman tied the game at 69 with 2:29 to go.
Kyle had a block on a Dunning Jr. dunk attempt but an Orange turnover led to a Betsey foul on the other end. Both free throws were missed as neither team could take advantage as the score was knotted at 69 with 1:12 to go. With Carmelo Anthony standing from his courtside seat, Syracuse couldn’t get anything going on its final offensive play. A near shotclock violation led to a missed shot and one last shot for Pittsburgh with 10.2 seconds left.
Indusaitas drove left and Kyler blocked his shot, but it was ruled a goaltend. Pittsburgh led 71-69 with 4.3 seconds left. Starling checked back in for the first appearance in crunch time. Starling inbounded to George, who rushed up court and heaved a half court shot that was off the mark. The shot fell short, and so did Syracuse on the season, setting up an interesting week ahead for the program.
Senior Day
Syracuse recognized student managers on its four seniors on scholarship in Nate Kingz, William Kyle, Bryce Zephir and JJ Starling in the pregame ceremony. Kyle and Starling received considerable applause from the crowd.
Next up
Syracuse heads to the ACC Tournament where it will play in the First Round from Charlotte, N.C. The Orange will play on opening day as the No. 14 seed against No. 11 seed SMU. That game tips at 4:30 p.m. ET and airs on the ACC Network.
