Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
WAER works hard to bring you award-winning sports coverage in Central New York. With a Sports staff of more than 20 people, you get comprehensive coverage of Syracuse University Football, Men's Basketball, and Men's Lacrosse. The best play by play on the air combined with regular morning and afternoon sports updates make WAER the source for sports in Central New York. See the legacy video here. See what it's like being in WAER Sports00000176-de2c-dce8-adff-feeff0ff000000000176-de2c-dce8-adff-feeff0ff0003

Syracuse's Comeback Comes Up Short In the Carrier Dome Against Pittsburgh

@WAERSports

Syracuse kept chipping away at Pittsburgh's nine point lead, turning another disappointing showing into a dramatic comeback.

But like so often this season for the Orange, it came up just a little bit short.

A last minute comeback was derailed by a illegal screen call on Rakeem Christmas with 35.1 seconds left and the Pittsburgh Panthers escaped the Carrier Dome with a 65-61 win to sweep the season series and bolster their NCAA Tournament resume.

“It is frustrating, but at the same time we should not put ourselves in that situation to begin with," Michael Gbinije said.  "It’s frustrating knowing that things could have been different if a call or two were different. We had opportunities and did not take advantage of them tonight."

Christmas scored 20 points on 8-14 shooting and Gbinije chipped in 12, but it wasn't enough for the Orange who fell to 17-10 on the season and 8-6 in conference play.  

The Panthers barely hung on, despite having a 60-51 lead with 2:35 left in the game.  A corner 3-pointer from B.J. Johnson and a block by Christmas on the other end gave Syracuse possession of the ball with 42 seconds left, only trailing by one.  But Christmas was called for the offensive foul on the next possession, as Gbinije was driving in from the top of the key to the basket.

"It's really frustrating. You just have to put it behind you and get ready for Notre Dame." -Rakeem Christmas on his illegal screen call

James Robinson gave Pittsburgh a 63-60 lead on a pair of free throws, his only two points of the half, but it sealed Syracuse's fate.  Then, Gbinije could only convert 1-of-2 at the line for Syracuse, who has now lost five of its last eight games in ACC play.

Chris Jones tied a career high with 19 points and led all Pittsburgh scorers.  He hit three 3-pointers in the final 4:01 of the first half, part of an overwhelming run for the Panthers that turned a four-point Syracuse lead into a six point deficit at intermission.  

"We wanted to really focus our defense on Jones," Jim Boeheim said.  "He really hurt us down there – we just let him have those open shots in the first half and it enabled them to get control of the game. It’s just a mistake we can’t make defensively."

Syracuse's offense came out slow and started the game 1-13.  It wasn't until a Ron Patterson 3-pointer nearly seven minutes after intermission that the Orange scored a field goal outside of the paint.  Even with a 2-to-1 advantage on the offensive glass, Syracuse could only produce eight second chance points.  That matched Pittsburgh's total.  In one frenetic possession, the Orange missed five straight shots until the ball finally deflected off a Panther player for a stoppage.

The Orange bounced back in the second half and shot 58 percent as Christmas started to take control.  It was just too little, too late against the former Big East rival once again.    

"I thought we played as hard as you could ask a team to play," Boeheim said.  "It was a great battle."