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Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel didn’t know exactly what to expect from Justin Champagnie heading into Saturday’s game. The star forward had turned a six-to-eight week knee injury into a three-week sidelining, returning to his first practice in full last Saturday.

Throughout the game, Capel would check in with Champagnie. “Are you okay?” he’d ask. “Are you tired?”

The answer was always no for Champagnie, who played 34 minutes in his first action back from his LCL injury. Syracuse had no idea he was playing until 20 minutes before the game, Quincy Guerrier said.

Wearing a large black brace on his left knee, the sophomore Brooklyn native didn’t just play Syracuse — he dominated the team on both ends, finishing with 24 points, 16 rebounds, two blocks and three highlight-reel slams. Capel called his play “magnificent.”

Champagnie, who leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounding and is third in scoring, powered a Pitt attack that took advantage of an Orange defense Jim Boeheim said was “probably the worst I’ve seen it since I’ve been here.” Three Panthers scored at least 20 points, and Au’Diese Toney (18 points) wasn’t far behind. Pitt scored 64 second-half points on nearly 60% shooting to seal a season sweep of the Orange, something that will likely haunt Syracuse come Selection Sunday.

And with every Pittsburgh run, every game-turning block or rebound in Pittsburgh’s (7-2, 3-1 ACC) 96-76 romp of Syracuse (7-4, 1-3 ACC), Champagnie was there.

“It was great to have Justin back,” Capel said. “He’s been chomping at the bit. I knew that if he was able to play, I was going to start him. Didn’t know how many minutes. But he’s done a heck of a job of working, of doing everything he can to get back to this moment.”

The day after Champagnie suffered his LCL injury, he sensed the timetable for his return was off. He’d experienced a similar injury in high school and recovered ahead of schedule then, too.

Back then, Syracuse was his dream school. The three-star recruit would talk about playing in the Carrier Dome. SU never offered him a scholarship. This game — his first matchup against the Orange since they came into the Petersen Events Center last season and won by 23 — was personal.

He started the game a bit slow, making sure he could trust his legs. A big part of coming back from injuries, especially lower-body ones, is mental, both he and Capel said postgame. He first knew his feet were under him four minutes into the second when they were about five feet in the air.

On the fast break after an Alan Griffin turnover, Champagnie skied for a slam. Nobody jumped with him.

“When I caught the first dunk, I said ‘I’m back,’” Champagnie said. “That’s exactly what I said when I dunked the ball. I said, ‘Oh, I’m back.’”

Though Syracuse led by five heading into halftime, Champagnie’s dunk was part of an 8-0 run to give Pitt a lead it wouldn’t squander. The Panthers opened up the second half with a 27-11 blitz. In the halfcourt, guards easily drove into the paint and either finished or kicked out to open shooters. They got out on the break after live-ball turnovers and long rebounds.

Minutes later, as Pitt continued to extend its lead, Champagnie rose up again, this time for his favorite jam of the afternoon. Point guard Xavier Johnson corralled a Griffin miss inside and led the break. Champagnie ran the floor to Johnson’s right, caught a bounce pass and elevated over Marek Dolezaj for a poster.

Eighteen of Champagnie’s 24 points came in the final 20 minutes. His dynamic inside caused SU’s zone to collapse, opening up shots for Pitt guards on the perimeter. His athleticism on the break allowed the Panthers to score 18 fast-break points to SU’s six.

Champagnie’s explosions deflated Syracuse as much as they energized Pittsburgh. Looking for a spark, Boeheim subbed Kadary Richmond in for Joe Girard III (2 points) for the last seven minutes of the game. He tried to press. He drew up plays for Buddy Boeheim (0-for-8 from 3). Nothing worked.

“They got it inside too easily,” Boeheim said. “When they missed, they got it and put it back. But it was really every position that struggled. The forward position struggled. The guard position struggled. We struggled at every position defensively, really the whole second half — a little bit in the first half, but the whole second half. Just a complete team breakdown defensively.”

Champagnie’s final highlight captured Syracuse’s struggles defending the rim. Off a missed 3, Champagnie trotted from the corner down the baseline. Nobody boxed him up, so he was able to time the miss, soar and flush it down off the rim. Though SU competed on the boards and lost the rebounding battle only marginally, it has been out-rebounded 144 to 99 in its past three conference games, all losses.

That losing streak started with Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome. Without Champagnie, Pittsburgh scored 63 points and needed a Toney tip-in to stun SU. With Champagnie, Pittsburgh neared the century-mark.

“He’s just a really good player. In the second half, we couldn’t control him at all,” Boeheim said. “I think he’s an all-league player. He was the difference today. When we did try to help back in there, that opened up some 3s from the perimeter. He’s a really good player, and he hurt us.”

Published on January 16, 2021 at 4:29 pm

Contact Danny: [email protected] | @DannyEmerman