Freeman, Starling combine for 41 points as Syracuse beats Pittsburgh 83-72

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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Donnie Freeman and JJ Starling combined for 41 points as Syracuse downed Pittsburgh 83-72 on Saturday.

Freeman posted 22 points for the Orange (11-5, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) on 8-of-13 shooting to go with five rebounds in his third game back from a six-week absence with a foot injury. He’s scored a combined 57 points since returning. Starling added 19 points, going 7 of 11 and and 3 of 4 from behind the arc.

William Kyle III had 11 points and four steals, but was held without a block for the first time this season. He entered the game tied for the nation’s lead at 3.1 blocks per game.

Brandin Cummings led the Panthers (7-9, 0-3) with 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting. It was his second game of the season with 20-plus points. Roman Siulepa added 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Cameron Corhen also had eight rebounds to go with nine points.

The Orange held a 48-37 lead at halftime after going on a 19-2 run over the first seven minutes. Starling's 3-pointer 1:25 into the game gave them a lead they never relinquished.

After the Orange opened up their lead to 18 within the first six minutes of the second half, the Panthers chipped away during a 20-8 stretch to cut the deficit to six. The Orange outscored them by five over the final 6:33.

The Orange shot 56% (29 of 52) and 45% from behind the arc (10 of 22) to 44% (28 of 64) and 19% behind the arc (5 of 26) for the Panthers.

Syracuse hosts Florida State on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh will go on the road to face Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

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