SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- It is more than safe to say that Nelly Cummings has Syracuse figured out.
What ever the recipe is for combating Jim Boeheim's trademark 2-3 zone defense, consider Pitt's starting point guard as Gordon Ramsay.
The Panthers needed every bit of Cummings' "terrific" effort Tuesday night, while contributions came on both ends of the floor from Blake Hinson, as a late Syracuse charge was staved off by the Panthers in an 84-82 victory for the visitors inside the JMA Wireless Dome.
"I think it was just the game," Cummings humbly said following his 22-point outing. "That's what the game called for today. I just want to win, so whatever it takes to win, that's what I'm going to do."
He later added that he asked his coach from Colgate for the recipe for defeating the zone, and his response was "just make shots."
Cummings made shots. So did Pitt.
Cummings scored his 22 points on a hyper-efficient 7 of 12 shooting and a 6 of 11 from beyond the 3-point line on Tuesday. Adding in his effort from last season against Syracuse, an 18-point outing while playing for Colgate, Cummings has combined for 40 points on 13 of 30 shooting (43.3%), 12 of 24 3-pointers (50%), 13 assists, and three turnovers in 75 minutes of action in Central New York.
"I mean, he was terrific," Jeff Capel said. "Really, really was. Nelly's one of the guys that's played against Syracuse. We only had on guy coming into this game that's played against them, in Jamarius (Burton). Nelly has some experience that played against Syracuse at the University of Pittsburgh. Nelly has some familiarity with them. Nelly won here last year (with) Colgate. He was able to make shots. He took some, in the second half, that could've been daggers, two-on-one breaks that we missed, but he did some outstanding stuff tonight."
The Panthers (9-4, 2-0 ACC) were lights-out against the Orange (8-5, 1-1), making 46.7% from the field overall, 13 of 32 3-pointers, and 15 of 21 free throws. Syracuse made just 6 of 24 3-pointers.
"We didn't play defense, we didn't rebound. Period. That's it," Boeheim said. "Nothing spacing, it had nothing to do with it."
Ultimately, however, the Panthers allowed a lead as large as 20 points fall to the ground, as the Orange brought the game to a last-second shot attempt from former Panthers commit Judah Mintz.
His attempt from just within the top of the 3-point arc clanked off the short-side left of the rim at the final buzzer.
The game probably should not have been as down-to-the-wire as indicated by the first 30 minutes of action, as the Orange clamped down to hold Pitt without a field goal for the final 6:23 of the game -- after a Greg Elliott bucket gave the Panthers a 77-63 lead -- and outscored the Panthers 19-7 over the final stretch.
But Hinson made a key steal of a Mintz pass to the low post and center Jesse Edwards, and went the other way to sink a free throw to give the Panthers their two-point lead with 6 seconds to play. Mintz then went down and missed the game-tying jumper.
"We let them back in the game, and that's not what we want to do, clearly," said Hinson, who paced the Panthers in scoring with 25 points. "You've got to be so thankful and so blessed to be in this position. ACC game, on the road, and be in a position where you've got to make a play, man. Thank God I was there and did that. But, it wasn't just that play. Being there after it was all said and done, it was just so exciting, man."
I asked Hinson if that pass from Mintz to Edwards was telegraphed. His response:
"Yeah, I would say so. I would say so. But, just like I said before, respect, respect, respect, respect to Syracuse basketball. That was a great comeback. That was a great game."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• John Hugley IV was unavailable again for Pitt on Tuesday, though he traveled with the team. According to Capel, Hugley's recent absences (including Saturday's game against North Florida) have not been injury related, and there is no timetable for the forward to return.
"There's no injury concern," he said.
When asked if there is a timetable with Hugley to potentially return, Capel answered with a "nope."
• Cummings' effort was witnessed by some of his former Colgate teammates, who took the 40-mile trek from Hamilton, N.Y. on Tuesday.
"That was real cool, man," Cummings said. "I enjoyed seeing them. I haven't seen them in a long time. I got them tickets."
My boys 👊🏾 https://t.co/M6rLdNdkyQ
— Nelly Cummings (@Ambition___0) December 21, 2022
How about this wholesome content from Elliott, who smiled from ear-to-ear as we were interviewing Cummings inside the hallway outside of the locker room after the game:
Look how excited Greg Elliott was for Nelly Cummings. He called Cummings “The Voice.”
— Corey Crisan (@cdcrisan) December 21, 2022
Cummings on that nickname: “That’s what Greg nicknamed me, but yeah, I’ll take it.” pic.twitter.com/oxHDG7cDBz
Elliott called Cummings by his nickname, "The Voice."
"That's what Greg nicknamed me, but, yeah, I'll take it, though," Cummings said.
Hinson used the same exact phrasing Capel used to describe Cummings' effort from Tuesday.
"Terrific, terrific," Hinson said. "I don't really even know what else to say, man. I'm thankful to be on Nelly's team. He brought in a very locked in energy that rubbed off on the whole team, especially me, and it showed. It showed, man."
• As Federiko Federiko exited the game in the first half with foul trouble (and fouled out with 5:37 left), Jorge Diaz Graham was called upon for key minutes. He delivered nine points on 2 of 4 shooting while making 4 of 7 free throws, and he grabbed five rebounds in 18 minutes of action. This came while drawing the matchup with Edwards, who is having a career year in his fourth season with the Orange. Edwards entered Thursday averaging 14.4 points and 11.2 rebounds, and was held to eight points and nine rebounds on Tuesday.
"I will say he is in (the locker room) extremely excited," Hinson said of Diaz Graham. "Excited in a genuine way. He's in there just like -- he's out of body, you know what I mean? Just being this young, being in this position, I mean, he played fantastic. If I gave away a game ball, I'd give it to him."
• Some local-to-Syracuse NFL royalty made their respective ways over to the JMA Wireless Dome for Tuesday's game:
The Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, Gabe Davis, and Stefon Diggs are here. https://t.co/B4aNVsq6DO pic.twitter.com/kZI0hXdP1U
— Corey Crisan (@cdcrisan) December 21, 2022
Yep. That is Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and wide receivers Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs seated at the scorer's table for the game. According to our friend (and my former professor at Syracuse) Mike Waters of syracuse.com, the trio was brought over on their day off with the assistance and hosting of Syracuse superfan Adam Weitsman. Also in attendance were Bills receivers Tanner Gentry and Nigel King. Weitsman knows Diggs, and the two follow each other on social media, per Waters' story linked above.
Weitsman is a prominent host to noted celebrities at Syracuse home games. Per Waters, included as guests of his in the past have been "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon, NFL legend Tom Brady, and NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE 5s
• Pitt: G Nelly Cummings, G Greg Elliott III, F Jamarius Burton, F Blake Hinson, C Federiko Federiko.
• Syracuse: G Joe Girard III, G Judah Mintz, F Chris Bell, F Benny Williams, C Jesse Edwards.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE INJURIES
• OUT FOR THE SEASON: F Will Jeffress (foot).
THE CONTENT
• Visit the Pitt team page and my Twitter feed for more coverage from the JMA Wireless Dome. You can listen to the lates episode of the H2P Podcast below.