Syracuse men’s basketball ends regular season with OT loss to Pitt

After four straight losses, Syracuse men’s basketball returned to the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday for the team’s Senior Day with a chance to claim one more win and end the regular season with a winning record. The Orange hosted Pittsburgh, ranked just one spot below Syracuse in the ACC standings. 

Pitt led most of the way, though the Orange would be the ones with the lead going into halftime. Both teams would trade blows throughout the second half like a heavyweight fight, culminating in a thrilling overtime finish, in which the Orange fell to the Panthers, 71-69. 

SU started slow, trailing the Panthers 16-9 eight minutes into the first half. After SU head coach Adrian Autry took a timeout, the Orange rattled off a quick 12-4 run of their own, and the game was tied with just over four minutes to play in the half. Junior guard Naithan George broke the tie with a three-pointer, putting SU in the lead 31-28 at the half. George led the way with 12 points in the first half. Pittsburgh forward Cameron Corhen was the Panthers’ leading scorer at half with 9 points.

The second half began similarly to the first, with Pitt taking advantage of a few SU defensive miscommunications, starting the second half on a 17-4 run and leading 45-35 with 12 minutes to play in regulation.

On a night where senior guard J.J. Starling went scoreless in 26 minutes and freshman guard Kiyan Anthony was out injured, the Orange needed someone to step up offensively.

George delivered, helping SU crawl back into the game. George scored 22 points in 28 minutes and finished with a game-high 26.

The Orange went on yet another 12-4 run, and the game was tied once again after big threes from sophomore forward Tyler Betsey and senior guard Nate Kingz, knotting the game at 55. 

After several possessions of trading baskets, Pitt guard Barry Dunning knocked down a three-pointer in the corner to give the Panthers a 65-63 lead with just under two minutes to play.

SU freshman forward Donnie Freeman tied the game after the Orange strung together several defensive stops. Freeman finished the game with a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

At the end of regulation, both Kingz and Panther guard Damarco Minor had chances to win the game, but both missed, sending the game to overtime tied at 65. 

Fittingly for the Orange, George opened the scoring in overtime, but Pittsburgh guard Nojus Indrusaitis answered immediately. With just over two minutes remaining in the five-minute overtime period, the game remained tied at 69.

The tie held until the Panthers called a timeout with 10.2 seconds remaining in overtime, neither team able to find an advantage offensively to get a good shot. On the very next possession, Indrusaitis finds a wide-open lane to the rim.

With 4.3 seconds on the clock, senior forward William Kyle III attempted a game-saving block, but was instead called for goaltending in what was a crucial miscue in a key moment. On the next possession, the Orange did not have sufficient time to get the ball down the court and find a good shot, resulting in a 71-69 Panthers win.

Autry said poor late-game execution was the difference-maker in the contest.

“We had a couple passes at the end that were not great passes, and you can’t have that,” Autry said. “You have to be able to get the ball in places where we can use it and we didn’t do that.”

Despite the stumbles down the stretch, Autry remains optimistic overall because of how competitive the Orange have been in these close games, especially as they head into the ACC Tournament in Charlotte.

“I think at the end of the day we’ve made progress as far as being able to be in games…we’ve had a chance at some points to take the lead or have a chance to come away with wins, so that gives me hope that we can string it together in a neutral site,” he said.

Kingz echoed this sentiment postgame, remaining hopeful for the team’s chances in the postseason.

“I’m just focused on the conference tournament and trying to figure out what we can do to win some games and get some momentum in that, and then go from there,” he said. “Just trying to stay confident and keep the morale high.”

The ACC Tournament begins in Charlotte on Tuesday. The No. 14 seed Syracuse will face the No. 11 seed SMU at 4:30 p.m.