Three-point shots the difference

In a game that featured tenacious defense and horrendous shooting, the outcome of Pitt’s… In a game that featured tenacious defense and horrendous shooting, the outcome of Pitt’s basketball game against Syracuse came down to two three-point shots in overtime.

After the Panthers tied the game at the end of regulation, both teams started the extra session with two points on their first possessions.

But on their next trip down the floor, the Orangemen got a lift from a player on whom they have depended all season. Syracuse forward Hakim Warrick tried to post up down low against Chris Taft.

Figuring that Warrick wouldn’t even look to his man, Julius Page left Gerry McNamara alone around the three-point line to help Taft on the block. Up to that point, McNamara — who averages 16 points per game — had missed all eight of his field goal attempts, including six three-point attempts.

But the sophomore guard didn’t miss this time, and his basket gave Syracuse a three-point lead with 3:57 to go in overtime.

“I didn’t leave him all game,” Page said about how he had guarded McNamara. “I doubled down on Warrick, and [McNamara] made the three. I figured Warrick wasn’t even looking for him. I just have to learn from it. I might do it again; I might not.”

On the other end, the Panthers had a chance of their own to send the game into a second overtime.

Two free throws from Taft pulled Pitt within one, but McNamara countered with two free throws of his own to put the Orangemen up back up by three.

With just under five seconds left, Yuri Demetris found Mark McCarroll for a last-second three-point attempt. McCarroll had an open look, but his shot was a little too strong, bouncing off the far side of the basket and to the floor, handing Pitt its first-ever loss in the Petersen Events Center.

The loss also ends Pitt’s 40-game home winning streak and marked the first time that Pitt has lost a game when holding an opponent under 60 points since Jan. 12, 2002.

According to Page, it was the adjustments that the Orangemen made both in the game and since the last time the two teams played that gave them the win.

“They came out more aggressive, and we didn’t make shots,” he said. “They’ve got a coach, they’re a good team, and [Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim]’s a pretty good coach. They weren’t going to let us win the same way we had up [at Syracuse].”

In Pitt’s 66-45 win over Syracuse earlier this season, the Panthers out-rebounded the Orangemen, 50-36, and Taft, McCarroll and Chevon Troutman all scored in double figures. The point total for Syracuse was the worst since Boeheim took over as head coach in 1975.

This time, Pitt was unable to solve Syracuse’s zone defense, missing a number of inside shots early and settling for jump shots late in the game.

“They beat the crap out of us in Syracuse,” Boeheim said. “We know they’ve made shots, so we had to get up and make them drive. When they go by, we covered better and made the guy coming in make the shot.”

The Syracuse defense held Pitt to a season-low 30.9 percent from the field and did not allow a Panther to score in double figures, keeping Pitt’s inside game in check.

After dominating the Orangemen in the first meeting, Pitt was unable to generate offense in the paint, getting outscored, 34-24 in the lane, although the Panthers had the edge in rebounds, 41-34.

“They get us on the boards,” Boeheim said. “We did a better job of contesting [the Panthers’ inside shots] and putting them on the free-throw line.”

Pitt (11-3) now falls into a three-way tie with Providence and Connecticut for first place in the Big East. With a game on the road against the Friars tomorrow night, Pitt has to rebound quickly in order to keep its share of the top spot.

“When it came down to it, they made the plays,” Page said. “We didn’t play to our par. Now we have to look deep down inside and decide if we’re going to play like we did at the beginning of the season or like we have the last week.”