SYRACUSE, N.Y., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Brandin Knight scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half Sunday to rally No. 21 Pittsburgh from a 14-point deficit to a 75-63 victory over 17th-ranked Syracuse that maintained first place in the Big East West Division.
Syracuse dominated the first half and held its biggest lead at 47-33 after a basket by Preston Shumpert with 13:42 remaining.
But Pittsburgh scored 12 straight points and went on a 32-9 run to take control. Knight, who had just three points in the first half on 1-of-7 shooting, hit a pair of 3-pointers and capped the spurt with a steal and a layup, giving the Panthers a 65-56 lead with 3:35 remaining.
Pittsburgh's superior depth was the difference. Headed by major contributions from Chad Johnson and Ontario Lett, the Panthers' reserves outscored Syracuse's bench players by a margin of 30-4.
Shumpert scored 28 points to lead Syracuse, which shot just 31 percent in the second half compared to 61 percent for the Panthers.
Pittsburgh (21-4) remained in first place in the division, improving to 9-3. Syracuse (18-7)slipped to third at 7-4, one-half game behind second-place Notre Dame.
The top two teams in each division receive byes in the opening round of the Big East tournament.
It marked the first time Pittsburgh has swept the season series from the Orangemen since 1986-87. On Jan. 22, the Panthers had 25 more rebounds than Syracuse and rolled to a 72-57 victory.
Sunday, Syracuse collapsed in the second half when Pittsburgh raised the defensive pressure and dictated the tempo.
The Orangemen led by as many as 11 points on two occasions in the first half, the latest coming at 33-22 after Lett was called for goaltending on a layup by James Thues with 1:30 left.
Pittsburgh scored the next five points on a 3-pointer by Donatas Zavackas and a rebound basket by Lett to pull within 33-27, but Shumpert closed the half with a running bank shot.
The Orangemen opened the second half with a 12-6 run as Shumpert converted a 3-pointer, a three-point play and a jumper, giving them a 47-33 lead. But Johnson scored six points on two layups and a pair of free throws, and Jaron Brown, Mark McCarroll and Chevon Troutman each had a basket in Pittsburgh's 12-0 run.
The Panthers tied the game at 49-49 as Troutman scored in the lane with 8:01 left and took their first lead of the half, 51-50, when Lett scored inside with 7:10 remaining.
Following a miss by Syracuse's DeShaun Williams, Brown was fouled and hit 1-of-2 free throws. Williams, who was just 3-of-10 from the field, missed another 18-footer on Syracuse's next possession. Following a steal, Shumpert missed from the top of the key and Knight made the Orangemen pay with a 3-pointer, giving Pittsburgh a 55-50 advantage with 5:34 remaining.
After a pair of free throws by Shumpert with 5:09 left, Knight followed with another 3-pointer to open the lead to 58-52.
Lett finished with 12 points and Johnson had eight for Pittsburgh. Kueth Duany was the only other Syracuse player in double figures with 10.
