NEW YORK – Pittsburgh came out of halftime more physical and more aggressive. The Panthers’ defense, which was porous in the first half, took on a different appearance in the second half. The most significant change, though, came in Pittsburgh’s ability to rebound.

The Panthers outrebounded the Orange 26-10 in the second half, and they grabbed 13 offensive and defensive boards. Syracuse, meanwhile, finished the second half with nine defensive rebounds and one board on the offensive glass. Pittsburgh attacked the boards hard in the second half as it nearly pulled off an incredible comeback before falling to Syracuse 62-59 in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.

“We just couldn’t get defensive rebounds,” Orange head coach Jim Boeheim said, “and that just allowed them to get back into the game.”

Syracuse went into halftime with a 40-27 lead, but that advantage nearly disappeared completely thanks to Pittsburgh’s aggressiveness.

That aggressiveness became especially clear in the closing minutes of the game.

With 4:44 left, Pittsburgh’s James Robinson missed a layup, but Lamar Patterson managed to get the tip-in, making it 55-49 Syracuse. Then C.J. Fair missed a layup at the other end, and that led to a fast-break layup by Talib Zanna to make it 55-51.

With 32 seconds left, Patterson missed a 3-pointer. Zanna got the offensive rebound, and made the putback to pull the Panthers to within one, 58-57. It was a key rebound at a time when Pittsburgh looked poised to take the lead once and for all.

Triche said after the game that Pittsburgh’s defense didn’t change too much in the second half. Instead, he said, Syracuse used more one-on-one plays, and overall, the Orange’s ball movement wasn’t as crisp or fluid.

But Triche said Pittsburgh’s one difference was noticeable.

“One thing they did do, was rebound the ball,” Triche said. “We didn’t get any second-chance points.”

Against a scrappy Pittsburgh team, Syracuse had to crash the boards hard early. And it did. The Orange outrebounded the Panthers 18-14 in the first half, and 11 of those boards came on the defensive glass.

But Pittsburgh’s assertiveness nearly led to Syracuse’s collapse. And that aggressiveness starkly contrasted the Panthers team that looked overmatched in the first half.

Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon said the fight was there at a critical stretch in the game.

“Outrebounded by 12 when it was all said and done,” Dixon said. “So I could see the effort, the fight in our team, as always.”

Published on March 14, 2013 at 8:47 pm

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