PITT BASKETBALL Krauser has 32 points in win

The Panthers bounced back from Saturday's loss at St. John's to beat Syracuse.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Carl Krauser broke out of a brief scoring slump with a career-high 32 points and No. 12 Pittsburgh bounced back from its first loss, holding off No. 25 Syracuse's brief second-half comeback to win 80-67 Monday night.
The loss was third straight for the Orange, all to teams ranked 12th or higher.
Krauser, the senior guard who led the Panthers to a 15-0 start before their 55-50 loss Saturday at St. John's, had averaged only eight points, or half his season's average, over the previous three games.
Room to operate
With Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense packed inside to control 7-foot junior Aaron Gray, Krauser had more room to operate outside and was most effective taking the ball to the basket. He was 13-of-14 at the free throw line and helped to foul out three Syracuse players as Pitt went 23-of-35 at the line to the Orange's 3-of-5.
Krauser's previous career high was 31 against Richmond in 2004.
Eric Devendorf and Gerry McNamara each scored 18 points and tried to rally Syracuse (15-5, 3-3 Big East) in the second half, but the Orange could get no closer than 58-54 on Devendorf's jumper with 81/2 minutes left.
Keith Benjamin's 3-pointer got Pitt's lead to 63-54, and the Panthers (16-1, 5-1) used their big advantage at the foul line to make sure the Orange didn't make any more runs.
Syracuse was coming off losses to now-No. 1 Connecticut and now-No. 6 Villanova, and missed out on playing a third consecutive Top Ten team only because Pitt dropped from No. 9 to 12th earlier Monday.
Syracuse shoots poorly
Demetris Nichols, who had 28 points against UConn, added 13 points for Syracuse, which shot 39.7 percent (29-of-73) and was only 6-of-27 (22.2 percent) on 3-point attempts. Pitt was 7-of-16 on 3-pointers after going 3-of-16 against St. John's.
McNamara, one of the Big East's top guards last season, bounced back after scoring only four points against Villanova. But his season-long shooting troubles continued as he went 8-of-24 -- 2-of-12 from 3-point range. He is shooting below 40 percent for the season.
Both teams looked weary as they ended a demanding stretch of games -- Pitt was playing its fifth in 12 days and Syracuse its fifth in 13 days, four on the road. The compact scheduling irritated Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who said last week that TV was playing too a big a role in determining the Big East Conference schedule.
Pitt unbeaten at home
Syracuse's fatigue may have helped Pitt -- which is 12-0 at home -- get off to a fast start with two 7-0 runs in the first half, the first to start the game. The Panthers opened an 11-point lead at 34-23 on Sam Young's three-point play off Krauser's pass inside.
Pitt, which rebounded from double-digit deficits in sweeping the season series from Syracuse last season, worked the lead to 48-33 on Ronald Ramon's 3-pointer about 31/2 minutes into the second half.