SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Put this in the scouting report on Syracuses Tyler Ennis: He can score, too. Ennis, the freshman point guard who would rather pass than shoot, scored 16 points, including two driving layups and two free throws in the final 2 minutes, and the second-ranked Orange rallied past 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) fell behind 52-49 with 4:31 to go on two free throws by Lamar Patterson, who had rallied the Panthers from a 10-point deficit. Ennis hit a scooping layup to give Syracuse a 53-52 lead with 1:47 left and the Orange held it to the end. "I pretty much had to make a play," said Ennis, who had three assists with one turnover. "I think they broke down defensively. They dont usually do that too often. I didnt even get to the basket all the way the whole game. Luckily, I did at the end." Twice. In a seesaw game that was tight all the way, Ennis took advantage again of his driving ability after Patterson and Cameron Wright missed 3-pointers on the same possession with just over a minute to go. Encouraged by coach Jim Boeheim to take more shots, Ennis hit a lefty layup with 30.6 seconds to go as the crowd of 30,046 shook the Carrier Dome with deafening roars. "He made some of the best plays that Ive seen in a long time," Boeheim said. "You dont get to the basket against Pittsburgh for two layups. He won the game for us down the stretch. We opened it up and we like to give him the opportunity in those situations. We were trying to give him an opportunity so he could get to the basket, and he has a knack for doing it thats just about as good as anybody Ive ever seen." Syracuse entered the game 2-0 against former Big East rivals, with victories over St. Johns and Villanova. The Orange made it three straight and remained one of only three unbeatens in Division I. "Thats what it comes down to -- finishing and stopping them," said Patterson, who missed what would have been a game-tying 3 with 5 seconds left. "We win the game if we do." In four of the past five seasons, Syracuse has started with at least 13 consecutive wins, and twice in the last four years Pitt (16-2, 4-1) had stopped those streaks. Pitt shot 38.3 per cent (18 of 47) and Syracuse finished at 51.2 per cent (21 of 41) in a very efficient game offensively. The Panthers dominated the offensive glass 16-4, outscoring the Orange 19-2 on second-chance points, but they missed a lot of chances underneath and paid for it in the end. "We got a couple of good shots," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "We just didnt make them. We need to finish better around the basket. Theyre good, but we felt we should have won the game." C.J. Fair had 13 points, Jerami Grant added 12 and Rakeem Christmas 10 for Syracuse. James Robinson, who leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, had six points, four assists and one turnover for Pitt and Talib Zanna finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. In an 81-74 victory at Georgia Tech on Tuesday night, Pitt won by dominating the glass 38-18. It was the Panthers closest victory of the season, the first 15 coming by an average of 17.8 points. Syracuse, accustomed to close games all season, led by four at halftime and quickly extended it early in the second half. Grants one-handed floater in the lane capped a 7-0 spurt and a 3 by Ennis from the left wing gave Syracuse a 37-27 lead with 14:27 left. Pitt erased most of that in a hurry as Patterson drained three 3-pointers in a 65-second span to narrow the lead to 39-36. He hit two from the wing and on the third he was wide open from the top of the key as Boeheim fumed on the bench. The Panthers entered the game leading the ACC with a 48.8 field goal shooting percentage but found little room to roam inside the Syracuse zone. Pitt shot 37 per cent (9 of 25) and hit just 1 of 7 3-pointers in the first half. It was Pitts second game without sixth man Durand Johnson, who sustained a season-ending injury to his right knee in last Saturdays victory over Wake Forest. The sophomore forward was blossoming as the first man off the bench, averaging 8.8 points and ranking second on the team with 22 3-pointers. In 2009-10, Syracuse won its first 13 games, then lost 82-72 to unranked Pitt in the Carrier Dome. The next season Syracuse won its first 18 games before the Panthers stopped that streak with a 74-66 win in Pittsburgh. Under Dixon, Pitt entered the game 10-4 against Syracuse, 5-1 in the Carrier Dome. D.J. Swearinger Jersey . The International Ice Hockey Federation says Russia is looking for a new coach before the world championship in May in Belarus. The IIHF says Russian hockey federation officials agreed to Bilyaletdinovs departure after meeting with him on Wednesday. Brian Cushing Jersey . -- Last month, Richie Incognito said severe repercussions would be warranted if the Miami Dolphins kept allowing sacks at such an alarming rate. http://www.thetexansjerseysproshop.com/Texans-Ryan-Fitzpatrick-Authentic-Jersey/ .C. -- Bobcats centre Al Jefferson says hell play in Game 3 Saturday night against the Miami Heat. Jared Crick Womens Jersey . This week they discuss the NHL paying Wayne Gretzky, fighting in hockey, the "Group of Death" and the Buffalo Sabres disaster season. DeAndre Hopkins Jersey . In the eyes of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the two-time defending NBA champions pretty much botched the whole thing. PORTLAND, Ore. -- There is something about returning to Portland that brings the best out of Memphis forward Zach Randolph. Randolph did another number on his former team Tuesday night, finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies to a 98-81 victory over the Trail Blazers. Mike Conley had 19 points and seven assists, and Marc Gasol added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies (23-20), who won their third straight and seventh in eight games. LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Blazers (33-13) suffered their most lopsided defeat of the season. Portland registered a season low for points scored and had their home winning streak snapped at five games. Randolph registered his 27th double-double of the season as a franchise record-setting 190th for the Grizzlies, who never trailed. Portland fell to 18-5 at home. Randolph, who played his first six seasons with the Blazers, averaged 22.7 points on 52.9 per cent shooting in seven previous visits. "Its always fun to come back," said Randolph, who scored 13 of his 23 points in the first half as the Grizzlies opened a 61-46 lead. "This is where I started, man. Thats just the kind of player that I am." The Grizzlies, picking up where they had left off in Saturdays 99-81 home win over Houston, shot 58.3 per cent in the first quarter against the Blazers and jumped in front 31-22 behind Randolphs 11 points. "It was important for us to get off to a fast start and we did," Randolph said. "We had great offence during the game, but our defence was the key." The Grizzlies held Portland, averaging a NBA-leading 109 points a game, to 34.5 per cent shooting two nights after the Blazers shot a season-low 33.7 per cent in a 103-88 loss at Golden State. "Memphis saw blood and they lunged at our jugular," Blazers centre Robin Lopez said. "I really think we kind of slashed our own throat in a way, which kind of let them run away with it." Aldridge was 6 of 7 in the first quarter and Nicholas Batum converted a three-point play that pulled Portland within 24-22, but Memphis outscored the Blazers 7-0 over the final 2:20 of the period to open a nine-point cushion. "We were in attack mode on booth ends of the floor," Grizzlies coach David Joerger said.dddddddddddd "Most of the night, we were the aggressors." Memphis connected four times from 3-point range in the second quarter, including one by Courtney Lee that extended the lead to 57-39 with 3:39 to play in the half. Damian Lillard connected from 3 for Portland to start the fourth quarter, sparking a 23-13 run that cut the deficit to 94-81 with 2:27 to play. "It was a disappointing game, needless to say," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts, whose team was playing its ninth game in 14 nights. "We got off to a slow start. We caught a team thats trying to put it together. Theyre on a roll and theyre playing very well. They showed that in the first half." Lillard finished with 16 points, Lopez had 14, and Batum 10 for the Blazers. "Were in a rough patch right now," Lillard said. "Were not shooting the ball very well and weve got to defend better. Weve played so well, we were due for a rough patch and a little bit of adversity." The Grizzlies remain in fourth place in the Southwest Division but are gaining ground. "Were getting our chemistry right," Randolph said. "I dont want to say were right there or that were hitting our peak, but its coming. As long as we keep working hard and playing 48 minutes, we give ourselves a chance to compete with anybody." NOTES: Aldridge recorded his 22nd game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, second most in the league behind Minnesotas Kevin Love (26). . With his 15th point Tuesday, Aldridge passed Cliff Robinson for third among Portlands all-time leading scorers with 10,406 points. Aldridges 27 point brought his career total to 10,418. . Memphis guard Tony Allen, whose last appearance was on Jan. 3 at Denver, was not in uniform and missed his 11th consecutive game with a sprained left wrist. Allen was averaging 10.2 points and 3.9 rebounds at the time of his injury. . Randolph went into Tuesdays game with 384 career double-doubles, ranking eighth among active players. . Randolph won the 2003-04 NBA Most Improved Player Award while in Portland and was the only player in club history to lead the team in scoring and rebounding in four consecutive seasons. cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '
