Tyus Battle found Oshae Brissett cutting by the left wing with just over five minutes left. Brissett caught the pass, took a few steps and rose toward the rim. He went in for a layup, but a push from the side gave him the extra couple of inches he needed to flush it home.

The Carrier Dome crowd erupted as Brissett let out a scream and walked toward the edge of the court near the student section. He let out a smile as Syracuse took a 12-point lead.

For the first time in conference play, Syracuse looked in complete control. Its offense wasn’t stagnant, and a mixture of pump fakes and quick passes consistently opened up holes in the Pittsburgh defense. Just five days after defeating No. 1 Duke, Syracuse (13-5, 4-1 Atlantic Coast) made a statement at home, downing Pittsburgh (12-6, 2-3) 74-63 on Saturday afternoon. Once again, it was Battle serving as the steady hand and guiding Syracuse, a team that led by just one at the half, to a double-digit win.

“We battled hard, they’re a tough, physical team,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “It was a good, solid win. I told the players, every game in this league is going to be like this. Nothing easy. It’s going to be difficult every time you come to play.”

This was a game that brought an eerie similarity to Syracuse’s matchup with Georgia Tech a week ago. It was one between two defensive-oriented teams, where Syracuse entered after a strong conference win.

The Yellow Jackets shut down SU, and handed the Orange a shocking home loss. After four nonconference losses, a number Syracuse has never made the NCAA Tournament with, a loss to GT put yet another blemish on the resume. The future looked bleak having to travel to Duke on a two-day turnaround.

Between that loss and the upset over No. 1 Duke, something changed for Syracuse. The offense took a step forward, shooting 44 percent from both the field and 3 against the Blue Devils. Syracuse now had a marquee win, one that might be the difference maker for the Tournament committee.

Expectations were raised tenfold heading into Saturday for an up-and-down Syracuse team that couldn’t miss one game, then shot terribly the next. Winning easier conference matchups, especially at home, became crucial.

“We didn’t want to play bad today,” Brissett said, “want to keep up the same intensity, same focus as if we’re playing Duke again. Doesn’t matter who we play, we know every game is going to be a tough game.”

Max Freund | Staff Photographer

It was a message well-received by the Orange, as they came out of the gate strong and seemed as though a possible let-down loss had been put to rest. The offense didn’t struggle to score. Again, like at Duke, 3s came much easier — even against a Panthers defense that ranked No. 8 in the country at defending the 3.

The Pittsburgh offense, meanwhile, struggled with SU’s patented 2-3 zone. Turnovers came often, and at times that proved costly. When the Panthers didn’t turn the ball over, the shot clock winding down would lead to a forced shot.

With under three minutes left in the first half, Syracuse led by 11 and began running away with the game. But, sloppiness stepped in.

A block from Oshae Brissett that erupted the Dome crowd was quickly silenced by an errant Paschal Chukwu pass and 3 from Jared Wilson-Frame. A layup from Brissett missed on the opposite end, and Pittsburgh pushed the tempo. Xavier Johnson laid the ball in off the glass as Wilson-Frame belted out “Money!”

All of a sudden, a once-double-digit lead had been cut to three at the half. Syracuse committed five turnovers in the final 3:23, giving Pittsburgh the momentum it needed to claw its way back in.

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It was important for Syracuse to begin the second half strong, to pull away from Pittsburgh and not turn the ball over. Nearly four minutes later, the Orange did not score a point. The crowd remained on its feet, clapping until Elijah Hughes nailed a 3 from the top of the key.

“We have supreme confidence in our self right now,” said Brissett, who scored 11 points and added four assists. “It shows. We’re playing like it. The first half, we kind of got separated there, playing a little selfish, but we were able to pick it up in the second half.”

But the momentum began to shift. Pittsburgh’s offense regressed, and Syracuse jumped on the opportunity. It came from all over the court. A left-wing 3 from Frank Howard. A slam dunk from Chukwu followed by a baseline one-handed slam from Hughes. Battle’s 3 from the top of the key forced the Panthers to call a timeout, the Orange ahead, 45-30. Battle would add a corner 3 and a breakaway dunk off a steal to cap off a 22-3 Syracuse run.

The Panthers were unable to battle back like they had in the first half. They led for just 2:20 total, and turned the ball over 17 times. Whenever Pittsburgh chipped away at the lead, someone on SU had an answer.

Brissett and Battle were able to get theirs, as both finished in double digits with Battle adding a team-high 22 points. But an unexpected spark from the offense came from freshman Buddy Boeheim, who has long struggled to find his stroke. He added four 3s and career-high 13 points.

“We were making 3s, getting in the paint, kicking it back out, finding the open man” Battle said. “The pick-and-rolls were working well for us. They were either doubling me, which left Paschal wide open, or they didn’t come up and that led to a pull up for me.”

As conference play heats up, Syracuse has its hands full. No game will come easy in the gauntlet that is the ACC. The margin for error became ever-so-slim after a surprising loss at home to Georgia Tech, and an opportunity for another defensive team to stymie the Syracuse offense arose in the form of Pittsburgh.

Instead, the opposite happened, and the Orange picked up a much-needed win on their home court.

Published on January 19, 2019 at 4:17 pm

Contact Charlie: [email protected] | @charliedisturco