PITTSBURGH – Pestered by Syracuse’s collapsing zone and pesky traps for much of the first half, it seemed Pittsburgh forward Chevon Troutman would have to find another way to contribute.Held to just six points in the first half, the Panthers’ second-leading scorer and unquestioned senior leader appeared frustrated and lacking rhythm.Troutman took his frustrations out on the offensive boards – an area that is becoming an apparent weakness for the Syracuse men’s basketball team. In Pittsburgh’s 76-69 victory Saturday night, Troutman took full advantage. Troutman responded in the second half with 12 points and four offensive rebounds. Not only did he grab the rebounds, but the bulky power forward finished three of the boards for easy baskets.'(Troutman) got a couple of offensive rebounds at the end there,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘He caught us not going to the boards.’Boeheim said that in Syracuse’s zone look, it’s difficult to locate opposing players for a clean box out. But most of Troutman’s tip-ins came with no Orange player even contesting the putback.Overall, Pitt out-rebounded Syracuse, 39-28, and held an 18-12 advantage on the offensive glass.While Boeheim downplayed the role of rebounding in the loss, instead blaming it solely on SU’s inability to permeate the Panthers’ 2-3 zone, Pitt had three offensive putbacks during a game-deciding 13-0 run.’The big thing was rebounding,’ said Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon. ‘We came in and we hurt them on the boards.’

In last Monday’s comeback from an 18-point deficit against Rutgers, Syracuse turned to a furious full-court press after halftime. Boeheim called it the best press he’d seen in 29 years of coaching.Again Saturday, after a 13-0 Pittsburgh run left the Orange in a seven-point hole, SU turned to the press. Only this time, the press didn’t work.’We didn’t trap well enough,’ Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara said. ‘It’s just one of those days. They did a good job of executing in it and they were making plays out of it.’Against Rutgers, Syracuse repeatedly caused turnovers and converted them into points, allowing SU to quickly set up the press. On Saturday, the Orange took advantage of too few offensive opportunities, rarely getting chances to start the press.’It hurt not capitalizing,’ SU senior forward Hakim Warrick said. ‘We couldn’t get in the press as much and they made plays down the stretch.’

Former SU running backs coach David Walker attended Saturday’s game, only three weeks after being hired by Pittsburgh. Walker was not retained by SU following Paul Pasqualoni’s departure and was hired by the Panthers on Jan. 7.’I had to sit this one out,’ Walker said, despite wearing a leather Pittsburgh football jacket. ‘I had to sit on my hands.’Pitt football head coach Dave Wannstedt also was in attendance.