The Syracuse men’s basketball team said it had more talent than Pittsburgh. It said it had more skill. It may be true, but the Panthers certainly showed they had more hustle.

Pittsburgh beat Syracuse, 68-64, last night at the Carrier Dome in front of 24,631 fans. It was SU’s second loss to Pittsburgh in a little more than two weeks. Still, the Orange players left the game incredulous, most of them believing they could have won if not for a few missed 3-pointers down the stretch.

‘Not a knock on them,’ said SU guard Louie McCroskey, ‘but I know we got a lot more talent than these guys. I wouldn’t say they’re more physical than us, they just make the plays.’

And in the last five minutes of the game, the Panthers made a lot of them. Syracuse, meanwhile, failed to keep up. The Orange (22-4, 9-3 Big East) held a 58-50 lead with 6:57 to go in the game. From there, No. 17 Pitt went on a 14-2 run. It was reminiscent of SU’s 76-69 loss to Pittsburgh on Jan. 29, when the Orange went scoreless for almost seven minutes.

But whereas last game Syracuse failed to find good shots against Pitt’s 2-3 zone, this time the No. 9 Orange failed to convert on the open ones, SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.

‘It came down to making a couple 3s,’ Boeheim said. ‘(Carl) Krauser made them, we missed them.’

With 5:02 remaining in the game, SU center Craig Forth dunked an offensive rebound, giving the Orange 60 points. The Orange didn’t score again until 35 seconds remained, when Forth scored off another offensive board.

While the Orange couldn’t score, it was Krauser, displaying his Bronx bravado, who doomed the Orange. He made three 3-pointers in the final six minutes, his first pulling Pitt within five, 58-53. The next Krauser bomb closed the gap to two points, 60-58. Finally, his last 3, with 54 seconds remaining, widened a Pittsburgh lead to four.

With 12 seconds left, a Hakim Warrick put SU within two, but the Orange couldn’t get any closer.

After each Krauser make, he emphatically raised both arms above his head in the form of an X, displaying his Bronx pride. After the final buzzer sounded, he grabbed his jersey and paraded around the Carrier Dome court, mocking the SU fans. He quickly found an ESPN television camera and pandered to a national audience.

‘Personally,’ McCroskey said, ‘I can’t stand that dude.’

‘Whenever I see him,’ said SU senior Josh Pace, ‘he plays with that killer instinct.’

True, that without Krauser, Pitt’s emotional leader, the Panthers (18-4, 8-3) may have faltered down the stretch. Syracuse seemed to have all the momentum, leading by eight with almost seven minutes left in the game. But Pittsburgh seemed to ready itself for a late run immediately after Krauser’s 3.

Throughout most of the game, both teams played at frantic pace, an unusual display from two traditionally half-court teams. Syracuse employed its press with nearly 12 minutes to go in the first half, almost exactly when Pittsburgh switched from man-to-man to its 2-3 zone. Unlike two weeks ago, when Pitt switched to zone and stuck with it, the Panthers often switched between man and zone last night, trying to throw the Orange out of its rhythm.

But Pace said the Orange was prepared for the switch and reacted to it. It showed. After the Panthers went to their zone and SU began to press, the Orange reeled off a flurry of turnovers, and seven quick points to take a 17-14 lead.

The fast pace continued, breeding extremely physical play. But when Krauser hit his 3, the Panthers seemed determined to run its half court set. In its next possession, the offense found center Chris Taft at the top of the lane. He turned and nailed a 10-foot jumper, at which point the Panthers seemed to be gaining momentum.

That made way for two more Krauser 3s – daggers – especially with SU unable to score for nearly the last five minutes.

‘He won the game for them,’ said guard Gerry McNamara, who told Krauser just that when the two shook hands after the horn sounded. ‘He’s done it twice. Without him, they’re probably heading home with a loss.’

Published on February 14, 2005 at 12:00 pm