4 players score in double figures as Pitt rallies to defeat Syracuse

No one inside Petersen Events Center is talking about it, but Pitt can’t afford more than one regular-season loss (maybe not even one) if it wants to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

The Panthers continued to walk that tightrope Tuesday night, fighting back to defeat Syracuse, 80-69, before a crowd of 7,260 at the Pete. After Pitt trailed by 16 midway through the first half, the Panthers rallied after halftime to win its second game in a row on the heels of a four-game losing streak.

There’s no talk about the desperate nature of every game, but there has been some important talk in huddles and the locker room, coach Jeff Capel said.

Capel credited seniors Zack Austin and Ishmael Leggett, who shared team scoring honors with 19 points each, for keeping the team together when Syracuse threatened to run away with a victory.

“To be down 16 and continue to fight and not drop the rope and to stay together,” Capel said, “these two guys, what they were saying and doing in huddles was really big for us.”

Capel said players taking that initiative is a good sign for the rest of the season.

“Every good team I’ve been a part of, as a player or a coach, has been player-led. We’ve been very fortunate here the last two years to have Blake (Hinson) last year, who was pretty loud and had command of the locker room, and Jamarius (Burton) and Nelly (Cummings) the year before.

“That’s something that we’ve been trying to find this year. It’s not where guys aren’t doing it and aren’t saying stuff. But there’s a certain command that you have to have, a certain level of accountability. When it comes from the players, it’s always most effective.”

Capel said Austin isn’t leading by making speeches or calling meetings.

“It’s at times calling guys out,” he said. “In order to do that, you have to be doing stuff at a high level. The last two games, we’ve had a little bit more of a voice and I think that helped us.

“It’s just taken us longer than I thought, certainly than they thought, to understand all those little things.”

Pitt (16-10, 7-8 ACC) trailed throughout the first half and the first seven minutes of the second and was down 45-34 only 45 seconds after intermission.

Unlike previous losses to Florida State, Virginia and SMU, the Panthers immediately ratcheted up the defensive pressure and were able to forge a 51-51 tie with 13 minutes, 9 seconds left in the game. Four 3-pointers — by Leggett, Austin (twice) and Guillermo Diaz Graham — were the big blows.

After halftime, Pitt shot 62.5% (15 of 24 and 6 of 10 from the 3-point line). The Panthers scored 46 points in the second half, the most since the Florida State game Jan. 15.

“Every time we didn’t do our defensive assignment, they made us pay,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said.

Syracuse (11-16, 5-11), which had shot 43.8% in the first half, missed 14 of its first 20 shots after halftime. After scoring 41 points in the first half, the Orange managed only 21 through the first 18 minutes of the second.

Syracuse’s 6-foot-11, 265-pound Eddie Lampkin, who had 23 rebounds against Pitt last month, managed only six while scoring seven points and often facing double-team defense..

“They did a really good job of attacking him,” Autry said. “They literally kept a body on him (throughout the game).”

And Pitt did it without committing an excessive number of fouls (13).

“I thought in the second half, we did a better job on our close-outs, not giving up straight-line drives,” Capel said. “I thought us going to double Lampkin, I thought our rotations out of that were really, really good. I thought our guys did a good job of defending without fouling.”

Pitt took its first lead, 58-56, on Leggett’s 3-pointer with 9:28 left in the game. Cam Corhen followed with a basket, and Leggett buried his third shot from beyond the arc to build a 63-56 lead with 8:30 to play.

Freshman Brandin Cummings, who scored 11 points in 30 minutes off the bench, hit a driving layup and an ensuing foul shot to maintain the seven-point lead.

In his return from concussion protocol, Jaland Lowe played an efficient game with 17 points (5 of 10 from the field, 6 of 6 from the foul line) while adding three assists.

Diaz Graham also played one of his best games, with eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

“He played with some anger,” Austin said. “He played with some toughness. He played gritty. Defensively, he was amazing.”

Austin hit 8 of 10 shots, but he said his offense was rooted in his defense.

“I start my game on the defensive end,” said Austin, who had three of Pitt’s eight blocks. “Get going there and hopefully the basketball gods will give me some offense.”

Austin said his role on the team is to “come in with energy every day.”

“Being loud, talking. Just playing defense, hitting open 3s .. and just doing what this guy (Capel) tells me to do.”

Pitt has reversed its fortunes with victories against Miami and Syracuse, two of the worst teams in the ACC. Next up is a trip to Notre Dame, another struggling outfit.

“This game is behind us,” Leggett said. “We’re focused on the next one. Keep our foot on the gas.”