Panthers falter late, fail again to close out No. 1 Syracuse

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No. 25 Pitt led by four points at the final media timeout of Wednesday’s game against No. 1 Syracuse, putting the Panthers in familiar territory after holding a late lead over the Orange in the two teams’ last matchup in January.

But as time expired, the Panthers were on the short end of a 58-56 final score after Tyler Ennis tossed in a 3-pointer from near half-court.

Ennis’ shot stunned the Petersen Events Center crowd of 12,935, leaving spectators with their mouths agape and their hands on their heads in disbelief. But it was real, and the Panthers (20-5, 8-4 ACC) had lost to a top-five team at the Pete for the first time in the building’s 12-year history.

“You can speak the obvious — we’re disappointed,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. “We felt we had played well enough to win, but they made shots down the stretch.”

The Panthers led for nearly the entire second half against one of the nation’s two remaining undefeated teams. But Syracuse (24-0, 11-0 ACC) took control when it mattered, despite Pitt playing a game that it appeared they deserved to win. 

“It’s a tough one to take,” senior Lamar Patterson said as fellow fifth-year senior Talib Zanna slouched in his chair to Patterson’s right, his hand covering his face.

It was “tough” not so much because of the way the game ended with Ennis’ final heave, but because, once again against the Orange, the Panthers let a late lead slip away against the country’s top-ranked team.

Pitt’s 52-48 lead with 3:48 left to play Wednesday nearly mirrored the 52-49 advantage the Panthers held with 4:41 left at the Carrier Dome Jan. 18. Pitt lost both times.

Each game between the teams has represented a microcosm of Syracuse’s season, as head coach Jim Boeheim has the Orange out to their best start in program history.

“Probably the way we’ve played for the first 36, 37 minutes of most games, we probably should be about 20-4 or 19-5,” Boeheim said. “But the last three or four minutes we’ve been just about perfect in all those situations.”

As a result, Syracuse is undefeated, and the Panthers have two losses at the hands of the Orange.

Out of the final media timeout, Pitt extended its lead to six points when Zanna tipped in an air-balled three by Patterson for a 54-48 lead.

Boeheim identified the ensuing sequence as the one that won his team the game. Just as the Orange used a 10-2 run to finish January’s game in Syracuse, the Orange also closed with a 10-2 run in Pittsburgh.

“We won the game because we were six behind,” Boeheim said. “Then we made a stop and made a three, then we made two more stops and got the lead and that’s what won the game.”

C.J. Fair made a 3-pointer to answer Zanna’s tip-in and cut the lead to three. Fair took a screen on the baseline from Rakeem Christmas that slowed Fair’s defender, Patterson, down, allowing Fair to gain separation and get a pass for an open triple in the corner.

The next possession down the floor, Syracuse went back to Fair on the opposite of the court. He drove to his right, crossed back to his left to shake Patterson off the dribble and pulled up for a jump shot that brought Syracuse within one.

“We were up six, obviously, but the two possessions where we didn’t score, they obviously got the ball immediately after that and hit a basket,” Dixon said. “And then obviously the three by Fair was huge, in the corner.”

Ennis then took over, making two free throws and the half-court shot that will go down in infamy among painful Pitt basketball memories. Some may chalk Ennis’ game-winner up to luck, but Syracuse put itself in a position to win late, and that’s why the nation’s No. 1 team won.

Not because of what happened in the game’s final 4.4 seconds, but the four minutes of play prior.

“We made plays,” Boeheim said. “They had opportunities, they could’ve scored and the game would’ve been over. They had two tip-ins down that could’ve gone in and put the game away.”