National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Pittsburgh 83, Syracuse 77
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 7, 2015
Where: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Officials: # Tony Chiazza, # Mike Eades, # Jamie Luckie
Attendance: 12508

Pittsburgh 83, Syracuse 77:
Jamel Artis remained hot by recording 20 points and 10 rebounds to fuel the host Panthers past the Orange in ACC action.

Pittsburgh (16-8, 5-5 ACC) won its third straight game - the second in a row courtesy of Artis, who added five assists and three steals Saturday - five days after blowing away his previous career high with 32 points against Bryant. Reserves Sheldon Jeter and Chris Jones combined for 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting while James Robinson and Michael Young added 13 points apiece.

Rakeem Christmas and Michael Gbinije each scored 23 points to pace the Orange (15-8, 6-4), who were playing their first game since the school self-imposed a postseason ban for 2015 due to sanctions from previous years. Christmas contributed 12 rebounds and six blocks but also committed five of his team's 14 turnovers.

The Orange led 72-71 with just over three minutes left when three straight Panthers possessions ended in baskets by Jeter, Artis and Jeter again, giving the hosts a 77-73 lead. Artis made a big 3-pointer with just over a minute to play before Jeter scored on a putback with 31.2 seconds remaining to make it 82-77.

Gbinije and Christmas combined for 23 first-half points as Syracuse held a 40-38 advantage at halftime despite leading by 10 with less than seven minutes to go. Christmas' dunk with 16:11 remaining gave the Orange a six-point edge, but Jones tied it at 49-49 with a pair of 3-pointers before Gbinije later forged a 61-61 deadlock with a shot from beyond the arc with 8:42 left.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Syracuse G Trevor Cooney was 1-for-7 from beyond the arc and is 12-for-51 from 3-point range over his last six games. ... Young, who grabbed 11 rebounds, has recorded back-to-back double-doubles for the first time this season. ... Pittsburgh's bench outscored its Syracuse counterparts 33-3.
Top Game Performances
 
Syracuse   Pittsburgh
Rakeem Christmas 23 Scoring Jamel Artis 20
Trevor Cooney 5 Assists Jamel Artis 5
Rakeem Christmas 12 Rebounds Michael Young 11
Rakeem Christmas 5 Free Throws Made Jamel Artis 5
Michael Gbinije 4 Steals Jamel Artis 3
Rakeem Christmas 6 Blocks Sheldon Jeter 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Syracuse 77 50.0 5-15 20-30 15 29 8 5 14
Pittsburgh 83 48.3 7-22 18-28 22 33 3 9 10