Fast reaction: 3 quick takeaways from Syracuse’s home loss to Pittsburgh
Chase Gaewski | Staff Photographer
Ron Patterson goes in for a reverse layup. He scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, and was a spark on a day when SU was looking for one.
Syracuse (17-10, 8-6 Atlantic Coast) came out flat early Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome and, despite a tight finish, the Orange was handed a 65-61 loss from Pittsburgh (18-10, 7-7). Here are three quick takeaways from the showing.
1. The bad, the bad and the ugly
The biggest faux pas on Saturday was the misspelled memento jersey Roosevelt Bouie received from SU on the day it was honoring the former big man. The Orange’s showing on the court, though, wasn’t much better.
Trevor Cooney’s missed layup on the break with 13:06 left in the first half said it all, encompassing the misery of the Orange’s 1-for-13 start from the field. Although Syracuse did well in the paint and at the free-throw line, it was not converting from midrange and the perimeter.
SU recovered to shoot 42.9 percent from the field overall, but the ugly start held back the offense from picking up any semblance of confidence.
2. Pitt bulls
Tyler Roberson resembled a boxer by the end of the afternoon.
Stiches over his left eye, which was nearly closed, and a bloody nose were proof of Roberson’s physical battle against the Panthers. He went to the locker room in the first half to be treated after a gash over his left eye shed blood.
He wasn’t quite the facilitator out of the high post that he’s been in recent games, but Roberson scrapped with Pittsburgh’s forwards and had nine points and six rebounds to show for it in addition to his battle scars.
3. Out of nowhere
On a day of unpredictability, B.J. Johnson and Ron Patterson were two of the Orange’s more notable contributors on offense.
Patterson, hitting a 3 and a baseline jumper in the second half, provided SU with its first field goals outside of the paint Saturday. Johnson hit a trio of 3s to help Syracuse keep pace with Pittsburgh despite its starting guards, Cooney and Kaleb Joseph, being less productive than usual.
Patterson finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting while Johnson tallied 11 points by tacking on two free throws to his three 3s.
Published on February 21, 2015 at 2:16 pm
