PITTSBURGH — Tyler Lydon and Taurean Thompson walked slowly toward the Syracuse bench. Thompson had held his arms out at his side as the pass he just delivered bounced beyond the baseline. Lydon stood in place, unable to haul in Thompson’s pass as a Pittsburgh defender blocked his path.

John Gillon attempted a similar pass earlier in the game that soared over every player’s head. That turnover resulted in an immediate substitution. This time, SU head coach Jim Boeheim called a 30-second timeout 89 seconds after halftime. SU trailed by nine while Lydon had only one shot and no points at the break.

“It’s not too hard to play against (physical teams),” Lydon said. “I don’t know. I’ve played physical teams before and I’ve played well. I just didn’t play good today.”

Pitt (14-11, 3-9 Atlantic Coast) rendered Syracuse’s (16-10, 8-5) best weapon obsolete Saturday afternoon in the Orange’s 80-75 loss to the Panthers at Petersen Events Center. Pittsburgh denied Lydon from catching the ball with space to work and snapped SU’s five-game win streak. Lydon finished 3-for-7 from the field with eight points and six rebounds in 40 minutes.

Since conference play began, Saturday marked only the third time Lydon was held to a single-digit point total and second time in the last three games. When Pitt and SU met on Jan. 7, Lydon received a mismatch down low and mostly thrived inside. He finished with 13 points as the Panthers switched to a zone defense to mitigate Lydon’s work.

Lydon said he didn’t notice anything different from Pitt in the rematch. The Panthers planned on playing more physical, though, and they delivered. Pittsburgh fronted Lydon in the post, taking away entry pass opportunities when Syracuse forced the defense to switch matchups. Chris Jones, Jamel Artis and Sheldon Jeter each took turns defending Lydon. And they all made sure to be aware of where SU’s most dynamic offensive player stood on the floor.

“We were just trying to make it as hard as possible for him to catch,” Pitt’s Michael Young said. “He’s a great player and I think we did a great job”

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On Syracuse’s third possession, Lydon drew a double team and traveled. Lydon has been effective this season spreading out the floor with his 3-point ability. But throughout the first half, he stayed inside. He only had one first-half assist, a feed for a Tyler Roberson dunk. Other than that, Lydon was virtually invisible on offense.

He picked up in the second half by drawing a foul after Boeheim’s 30-second timeout. Cameron Johnson pushed him while fighting for a rebound. But on the same possession, Gillon urged his teammates for movement by yelling “Move!” with 10 seconds left on the shot clock while Lydon battled inside.

Even when Lydon did get the ball, he didn’t contribute.

“He caught it down there, they were physical with him,” Boeheim said. “He couldn’t get in the lane, he couldn’t score, they kept him off the boards.”

When Lydon finished as Syracuse’s third-leading scorer against then-No. 6 Florida State, he also blocked six shots and grabbed seven defensive rebounds. But against Pitt, he didn’t block a shot, pulled in three defensive rebounds and committed three turnovers — a far cry from his multi-faceted game against the Seminoles.

He flashed what he’s capable of by hitting a 3-pointer at the top of the key to cut Pitt’s lead to 47-39. But after that, Lydon hit only one of two free throws. He also air-balled a midrange jumper and committed an offensive foul.

Lydon’s day reached a boiling point with 40 seconds remaining. Syracuse trailed by four with a chance to make it a one-possession game. But when the pass dropped into Lydon’s hands, he fumbled the ball out of bounds. Pitt’s student section jeered. Lydon had nothing left to do but walk back on defense as SU proceeded to foul.

After serving as the Orange’s lifeblood so often, his offensive game stopped beating.

“He’s one of our primary scorers but when that happens, somebody else has to step up,” fifth-year guard Andrew White said. “We have to be able to hold things down while he’s struggling.”

But that never happened against Pittsburgh and the Orange fell as quickly as its best player did.

Published on February 11, 2017 at 5:09 pm

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