SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis scored 16 points, including two driving layups and two free throws in the final 2 minutes, and No. 2 Syracuse beat No. 22 Pittsburgh 59-54 on Saturday in a battle for first place in the ACC between the two former Big East rivals.
Syracuse (18-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) entered the game 2-0 against former Big East rivals, with victories over St. John’s and Villanova. The Orange made it three consecutive and remained one of only three unbeatens in Division I.
In four of the past five seasons, Syracuse has started with at least 13 consecutive victories, and twice in the last four years Pitt (16-2, 4-1) had stopped those streaks.
In a seesaw game that was tight all the way, Ennis, encouraged by Coach Jim Boeheim to take more shots, won it by hitting a scoop with 1:47 left and a lefty layup with 30.6 seconds to go as the crowd of 30,046 shook the Carrier Dome with deafening roars.
Pitt had chances to tie it, but Lamar Patterson missed two three-pointers in the final 2 minutes and Cameron Wright missed another. Patterson finished with 18 points, 14 in the second half.
Pitt shot 38.3 percent (18 of 47) and Syracuse finished at 51.2 percent (21 of 41).
C.J. Fair had 13 points, Jerami Grant added 12 and Rakeem Christmas had 10 for Syracuse, which won despite being pounded 16-4 on the offensive glass as Pitt finished with a 19-2 edge in second-chance points.
In other ACC games Saturday, Joe Harris scored 18 points and Virginia used an early 22-5 run to take command on its way to a 78-66 victory against Florida State and a sweep of its season series against the Seminoles. … Marcus Paige scored 21 points and North Carolina beat Boston College 82-71 for its first ACC victory of the season. … Jabari Parker scored 23 points and No. 23 Duke scored 33 points off turnovers to beat North Carolina State 95-60. … Freshman Manu Lecomte scored a career-high 16 points, Donnavan Kirk added 14 points and Miami used its tight zone defense to beat Georgia Tech 56-42. … K.J. McDaniels scored 15 points and had 12 rebounds to lead Clemson to a 61-53 victory over Wake Forest.
BIG TEN Michigan beats Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. - Nik Stauskus scored 23 points and hit a key three-pointer with 48 seconds left, and Michigan fended off a late surge for a 77-70 victory Saturday overNo. 3 Wisconsin.
Caris LeVert added 20 for the Wolverines (13-4, 5-0 Big Ten), who held on for their first road victory at Wisconsin since 1999 after nearly squandering a 15-point lead.
The Badgers (16-2, 3-2) went on a 14-2 run late, and Ben Brust’s putback got them within 68-67 with about 2 minutes left.
But after whiffing on a 3 from the right wing, Stauskus hit a step-back for 3 from the left side to give Michigan a 71-67 lead.
Josh Gasser had 16 points for the Badgers, which lost their second consecutive game after a school-best 16-0 start.
In other Big Ten games Saturday, Tre Demps scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and Northwestern defeated Indiana 54-47. ... Terone Johnson had 14 points and five rebounds to lead Purdue to a 65-64 victory over Penn State. … Gary Harris scored 23 points and Denzel Valentine pulled down 11 rebounds to lead No. 4 Michigan State past Illinois 78-62. BIG EAST Villanova takes DePaul
VILLANOVA, Pa. - James Bell had 17 points and eight rebounds, Ryan Arcidiacono scored 14 points, and No. 6 Villanova won its fifth consecutive game 88-62 over De-Paul on Saturday.
The Wildcats (16-1, 5-0 BigEast) made a whopping 19 of 26 shots (73 percent) in the second half as they continue to steamroll through the revamped conference. Villanova tied a season low with five turnovers.
Daniel Ochefu had 14 points and six rebounds, and Josh Hart hit three three-pointers and scored 13 points for the Wildcats.
The Blue Demons (10-9, 2-4) entered on a rare two-game conference winning streak, but failed to get three consecutive for the first time since 2006-2007. Brandon Young led them with 13 points.
The Wildcats built a halftime lead without a point from two of their leading scorers, JayVaughn Pinkston (16.1) and Darrun Hilliard (13.9).
In other Big East games Saturday, Fuquan Edwin scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half, and Seton Hall rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit and broke a three-game losing streak with a 67-57 victory over Georgetown. … Khyle Marshall and Kellen Dunham each scored 18 and Butler allowed just 17 points over the final 21 minutes to rally for a 69-57 overtime victory against Marquette. … Phil Greene IV scored 16 points, including a career-best four three-pointers, to lead St. John’s to a 69-55 victory over Dartmouth. … Bryce Cotton scored 23 points and LaDontae Henton added 19 as Providence upset 20th-ranked Creighton 81-68.
Sports, Pages 25 on 01/19/2014