Dion Waiters credited Jim Boeheim with a key assist after the game.

Syracuse’s lead was cut to four points by Pittsburgh after the Orange had controlled most of the game. Boeheim called a timeout to talk things over, and the head coach delivered a message to his sophomore guard.

‘Coach told me, ‘Let’s go ‘D,”’ Waiters said. ‘That’s all I needed to hear.’

Pittsburgh came out of the stoppage in a 2-3 zone. Waiters slashed in on the left side of the defense and zipped a pass across the court to a wide-open Kris Joseph. Joseph swished the 3 to put the lead back at seven. Two possessions later, Waiters buried a catch-and-shoot 3 from the left wing to give SU a comfortable 10-point lead.

The Panthers never got within eight points after the Waiters 3-pointer as No. 1 Syracuse held on for a 71-63 win in front of 24,826 at the Carrier Dome on Monday. SU (20-0, 7-0 Big East) exploded out of the gates to take a 15-2 lead less than five minutes in, but Pittsburgh (11-8, 0-6 Big East) simply refused to go away until the back-to-back 3’s late in the second half put the game out of reach.

‘I just tried to pick it up,’ Waiters said. ‘I had a lack of energy in the first half because I’m still getting over a cold. I just couldn’t find it in the first half. But once (Boeheim) told me that, I just blocked the cold out and everything and just picked it up.’

The victory tied Boeheim with legendary Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp for the fourth-most wins (876) by a coach in Division I history. It also gave the 20-0 Orange the best start in program history, one win better than the 19-0 start by the 1999-2000 team.

‘It’s cool just to be in the history books,’ junior guard Brandon Triche said. ‘Your name is going to be part of the team. That’s the great part about it.’

Early on, it looked like Syracuse would have no trouble getting the record-setting win.

On Pittsburgh’s first possession of the game, center Fab Melo stuffed a putback attempt, grabbed the loose ball and sent an outlet pass to Triche. The guard quickly dished the ball to Joseph cutting to the hoop on the left side, and he finished with an easy layup on SU’s first touch of the game.

That was the first play of a 15-2 run highlighted by easy alley-oops, dunks and layups. Scoop Jardine, who finished with 12 points and 10 assists, connected with Melo and Joseph for three straight easy looks at the rim.

‘We just came out with a lot of energy and knocked down shots,’ Triche said. ‘We turned them over a little bit more than we usually do in the beginning of games and got some transition points.’

But Pittsburgh withstood the fast start from the Orange and worked its way back into the game. The Syracuse lead never grew past 14 points, due mostly to the Panthers dominance down low. They hauled in 12 more rebounds than SU and consistently got to the free-throw line.

Boeheim said he was pleased with SU’s defensive effort in the first half, but the head coach thinks the Orange needs to improve its effort after halftime.

The defensive lapses allowed Pittsburgh to close the gap in the second half, and the Panthers eventually worked their way within 53-49 before the game swung decisively back to SU. Joseph, who missed his first five shots from deep on the night, buried an open 3.

The Panthers had a chance to once again climb back into the game, but John Johnson missed solid look for 3. And Waiters put the game out of reach on the next possession.

‘We haven’t been making many perimeter shots,’ Boeheim said. ‘I think that’s something that’s been a little bit of a concern. But we made those two when we really needed them.’

SU finished just 5-of-18 from long range on the night, but the back-to-back 3’s by Waiters and Joseph proved to be the difference. The Panthers never got back into striking distance in the last seven minutes, and Syracuse hung on for the record-setting win.

‘We’re still getting better,’ Waiters said. ‘We’re still progressing. When that Big East tournament comes around, when that NCAA Tournament comes around, I think we’re going to be much better than we are right now.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on January 16, 2012 at 12:00 pm