Postgame Reaction from Pitt’s Loss at Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — On Saturday, Pitt got off to another cold start, something that’s been a troubling trend for the Panthers this season.

Facing the tough Syracuse zone, in a notoriously difficult shooting environment at Carrier Dome and with freshman Justin Champagnie sidelined with foul trouble, the Pitt offense took about 16 minutes to get going. When the Panthers finally got untracked, it was too late.

They made a steady charge from down 20 points in the first half, closing to just a three-point deficit with under two minutes to play, but Syracuse was solid down the stretch and did not relinquish the lead.

“Every play matters and we paid for it,” Pitt forward Terrell Brown said after the game. “We fought back down 20. But it just wasn’t enough. It was too late. We can’t play for 23 minutes. We have to play for a full 40.”

Check out the rest of the postgame reaction from Brown, Champagnie and Pitt head coach Jeff Capel: