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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Buddy Boeheim had a career-high 20 points, and Syracuse defeated Pittsburgh 73-59 on Wednesday night in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament despite playing without leading scorer Tyus Battle.
Elijah Hughes and Frank Howard each had 18 points for the Orange, who'll face No. 5 Duke in a rubber match Friday night in the quarterfinals in a game that could feature the return of Zion Williamson from an injury.
Boeheim, the son of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, got the start for the Orange (20-12) in place of Battle and played an instrumental role in a second half comeback hitting 6 of 13 shots from the field while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Pitt's Jared Wilson-Frame had 24 points on eight 3-pointers, one shy of the ACC Tournament record held by Randolph Childress of Wake Forest in 1995.
Syracuse trailed 36-30 at halftime after Wilson-Frame connected on 6 of 9 3-pointers.
But with the Orange down five, Boeheim scored on a drive and then knocked down two 3-pointers from the top of the key to give Syracuse the lead. After Hughes and Howard connected on 3s, Boeheim somehow grabbed his own miss amid the trees in the lane, scored and drew a foul for a 3-point play to give the Orange a 52-43 lead.
Pitt's freshman backcourt of Trey McGowens and Xavier Johnson, who combined for 46 points in a first round win over Boston College, were limited to seven points with their drives nullified by 7-foot-2 Paschal Chukwu's shot blocking ability in the lane.
BIG PICTURE
Pittsburgh: The Panthers (14-19) won only three games in the regular season but have a solid young nucleus returning next season led by Johnson and McGowens.
Syracuse: The Orange may have solidified a spot in the NCAA Tournament with 20th win of the season in a difficult conference.
UP NEXT:
Pittsburgh: Season over.
Syracuse: Will play Duke for a third time. The teams split during the regular season with both teams winning on the road.
NOTES
Syracuse (20-12) moves on the face No. 3 seed Duke (26-5) in Thursday’s 9 p.m. quarterfinal game … The Orange and Blue Devils split two regular-season meetings, with each side winning on the road … Syracuse won 95-91 in overtime at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 14, while Duke posted a 75-65 victory at the Carrier Dome on Feb. 23.
This marks the first year since 2013 that the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament will be comprised totally of the eight top-seeded teams.
Syracuse improved to 2-4 in ACC Tournament play and to 1-3 in second-round games.
Pitt (14-19) is now 5-6 in all ACC Tournament games, 2-3 in the second round.
Syracuse became the eighth ACC team this season to reach the 20-win plateau.
Freshman guard Buddy Boeheim lead the Orange in scoring with a career-high 20 points … Boeheim scored 15 points in the second half, when Syracuse rallied from a 36-30 halftime deficit.
Elijah Hughes and Frank Howard each added 18 points for the Orange … Hughes (5-for-9), Howard (4-for-7) and Boeheim (3-for-7) were a combined 12-for-23 from 3-point range.
Pitt senior Jared Wilson-Frame led all scorers with 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting from 3-point range.
Wilson-Frame’s eight made 3-pointers were one shy of the ACC Tournament single-game record of nine set by Wake Forest’s Randolph Childress in the Demon Deacons’ overtime win over North Carolina in the 1995 title game … Three other players have connected on eight shots in regulation time of a single ACC Tournament game, most recently Olivier Hanlan of Boston College versus Georgia Tech in 2013.
Wilson-Frame set an ACC Tournament with all of his 16 field goal attempts in the game coming from 3-point range … The previous record was held by Wake Forest’s Tony Rutland, who attempted all 14 of his shots from 3-point range (making five) in a loss to North Carolina in the 1997 semifinals.
Wednesday night marked the 11th time in the last 16 games – and the 14th time overall this season – that Wilson-Frame has connected on at least four shots from 3-point range … He finished with 98 made 3-pointers for the 2018-19 campaign and is only the third player in program history to make at least 90 shots in one season from beyond the arc.
Pitt sophomore center Terrell Brown led all players with a career-high 13 rebounds.