If anything the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team has done in awhile has felt like a rivalry, it was this game against the Pittsburgh Panthers, a team they faced their entire time in the Big East Conference, in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and before that, going back to January 29, 1914.
This served as the 124th match-up between the two northeast schools, with the Orange owning a 73-50 advantage.
Syracuse began the game with two tough makes, the first by sophomore point guard Judah Mintz on a hanging jumper on the left side off the rim followed by sophomore guard J.J. Starling on the right side of the rim, giving the Orange a 4-0 lead.
Pittsburgh quickly responded, going on a 7-0 run to take the lead 7-4.
Mintz responded with his second make of the day, also a jumper, and sophomore Chris Bell saw his right-handed shot in the lane drop through the nylon to retake the lead, 8-7 Syracuse.
Big-man transfer center, junior Naheem McLeod, had three blocks at the 14:24 mark of the first half, including two on one Panthers' possession.
Freshman guard Carlton Carrington would give the lead back to Pittsburgh on his three at the 13:39 mark that brought the score to 15-14 Panthers.
With 11:57 remaining in the first half, sophomore guard Quadir Copeland made his first field goal of the game, this coming from beyond the arc, and the following free throw for a four-point play that knotted the contest at 18 apiece.
Orange junior forward Benny Williams' first points of the game would give the Orange the lead back at the 9:55 mark, at 22-20.
A steal by sophomore forward Maliq Brown on Pittsburgh sophomore forward Guillermo Diaz Graham was followed by Brown, who was on the ground, sending the ball into the lane to Copeland who finished to move Syracuse out to a four-point lead, 24-20.
Senior forward Blake Hinson, going 1-for-2 from the charity stripe, would regain the lead for the Panthers, 27-26.
Later on in the opening half, Mintz would be called for an offensive foul on what could have been an old-fashioned three-point play.
Syracuse first-year head coach Adrian Autry would state his belief that it was not a foul and was charged with a technical.
Carrington responded by making both free throws and a three on the possession that immediately followed his trip to the charity stripe, moving the Panthers ahead by 10, 38-28, the only double-digit lead by either team in the first half.
At the break, Pittsburgh led 38-30.
There were five lead changes and five ties in the first half.
The Orange would open the second half on a 14-5 run, taking their eight-point deficit and turning it into a one-point lead, 44-43, with 14:06 remaining. Mintz's two free throws were the last two points needed to get ahead 44-43. Before that, junior forward Benny Williams rose up in transition for a monster slam that belongs on a poster.
Syracuse would never rescind the lead from that 14:06 mark, despite Pittsburgh shrinking their deficit to one possession and tying the game in this half.
With under nine minutes to play, Syracuse had doubled Pittsburgh's point output in the second half, 24 to 12.
At just under six minutes to go, Syracuse had already out-scored their output of the entire first half, 31 to 30.
The first double-digit lead by the Orange came with 2:05 remaining on a 2-for-2 outing by Copeland at the line that brought the score to 73-63.
Pittsburgh would get a steal late with Graham taking the ball from Syracuse transfer, redshirt-sophomore guard Kyle Cuffe, Jr. Redshirt-junior forward Zack Austin would find freshman guard Jaland Lowe in the corner for three to bring the Panthers within two possessions, down 78-72, with 35 seconds to go.
But a defensive rebound by Brown with eight seconds remaining would do it as the Orange closed the door on the Panthers by a score of 81-73.
Syracuse is now 42-18 at home versus Pittsburgh, and 74-50 overall against the Panthers.
With the victory, the Orange get to 10 wins in 13 chances with Autry as head coach. Their 10-3 overall record includes a 7-0 start at home in the Dome this season.
In the ACC, Syracuse is 1-1 and Pittsburgh is 0-2.
Copeland led all scorers for the Orange, coming off the bench for 22. Williams and Browns, also on the bench, had 15 apiece. Mintz was the lone starter to attain double-figures in scoring, with 12. Brown ended the contest just shy of a double-double, with eight rebounds to go with his 15 points. Copeland's 22 points is a single-game career-high, and he had nine rebounds to go with his 20+ points.
Three Panthers finished in double-figures, all starters: Carrington with 17, Diaz Graham with 14, and Hinson with 11.
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