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  Article by Dan Tortora

  The Syracuse Orange turned on the Tuesday Night lights at the Carrier Dome to welcome in the Pittsburgh Panthers for their 120th meeting.

  Syracuse leads Pittsburgh all-time with 73 wins to Pittsburgh's 46 in their head-to-head bouts.

  The Orange had won eight of nine, including seven games in a row, before the Panthers took both of their duels last season.

  Pittsburgh would tie Syracuse three times in the first half, and Syracuse would have an answer each time.

  Then, the Panthers would go on an 11-3 run, which began with a three from Mouhamadou Gueye that brought the score to 22-19 Orange at the 8:45 mark.

  Syracuse would respond with a run of their own, 10-2 to end the first half, regaining the lead after losing it at the 5:57 mark as a result of a three by sophomore guard Femi Odukale that advanced Pittsburgh ahead 27-25. At the break, it was 35-34 Orange.

  Girard scored immediately to open the second half on the team's first possession out of the locker room, keeping the momentum going for Syracuse.

  A 12-3 run on the side of the Orange would move them ahead by double-digits, 47-37, just inside 16 minutes remaining in the game.

  The man that opened up the second half with a quick score would pick up his third and fourth fouls quickly as well, going out of the game at the 12:17 mark.

  Less than a minute later, there was a break in the action at the 11:25 mark with the score at 56-41, showcasing Syracuse's 21-7 run to open the second half, tripling the points of their adversary.

  Junior center Jesse Edwards and graduate forward Jimmy Boeheim, like their teammate Girard, would pick up his fourth foul in the second half, Edwards at the 5:26 mark and Buddy with 3:51 remaining. Lucikly for the Orange, there were ahead by 18 at that 3:51 mark, by a score of 72-54.

  With 1:21 to play, Edwards fouled out, ending the contest with 12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, one assist, one steal, and no turnovers in 32 minutes played.

  Syracuse never trailed in the second half, winning 77-61, over rival Pittsburgh.

  The Orange went 12-for-22 from the field in the second half (54.5%), 11 of those 12 shots from inside the arc, with the team going 1-for-7 from deep in the half (14.3%).

  They doubled Pittsburgh's points in the paint in the second half, 32 to 16.

  Buddy Boeheim led the way for the Orange with 24 points, marking his eighth game this season where he has scored at least 20 points. Syracuse is 6-2 in games this season where Buddy amounts 20 points or more.

  He was 53.8% from the field overall (7-for-13), including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc (62.5%) to go with four rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two turnovers. 

  Jimmy Boeheim followed with 18 points, Edwards with 12, and senior forward Cole Swider with 10. 

  Three players ended the contest with 14 points apiece to lead the Panthers: Odukale, Gueye, and senior guard Jamarius Burton.

  Syracuse and Pittsburgh flip-flopped in two key areas, with the Orange having 11 steals to five by the Panthers and nine turnovers to Pittsburgh's 13.

  The team had five blocks in the game, Edwards with three, Swider with one, and true freshman forward Benny Williams with one.

  In this 120th match-up, the Orange ended the Panthers' two-game winning streak as well as attained their 74th victory in the series.

  For this current season, Syracuse snaps a three-game losing streak, all in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), losing by five at home to the Virginia Cavaliers, by one on the road visiting the Miami Hurricanes, and most recently a three-point loss in overtime on the road against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

  They get back to .500 overall at 8-8 and are now 2-3 in the ACC.

  Pittsburgh now has double-digit losses (10), with an overall record of 6-10. They are 1-4 in the ACC, with their lone conference win coming a game ago 69-67 versus the Boston College Eagles.