Justin Champagnie scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half to lead host Pittsburgh to a 96-76 victory over Syracuse in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday.

Champagnie matched his season high for points and also collected 16 rebounds while playing for the first time in exactly one month due to a knee injury. He displayed he was recovered with three second-half dunks.

Xavier Johnson recorded 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Panthers (7-2, 3-1 ACC). Ithiel Horton matched his season high of five 3-pointers while scoring a campaign-best 20 points and Au'Diese Toney had 18 points as Pitt completed a regular-season sweep of the Orange.

Alan Griffin scored a career-best 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Syracuse (7-4, 1-3). Quincy Guerrier added 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, Marek Dolezaj had 14 points and three rejections and Buddy Boeheim tallied 12 points.

Pittsburgh was playing for just the second time in 25 days due to various COVID-19 situations. The lone game played during the span was a 63-60 road win over Syracuse on Jan. 6.

The Panthers shot 46.3 percent from the field, including 8 of 23 from behind the arc. Pitt had an 18-6 edge in fast-break points and held a 47-35 rebounding edge.

Syracuse shot 40.3 percent from the field and made 3 of 22 from 3-point range.

Champagnie scored consecutive baskets to start the second half as Pitt tallied the first eight points to take a 40-37 lead.

Syracuse led 44-43 after a basket by Joseph Girard III before Champagnie answered with back-to-back hoops. He scored on a layup and followed with a steal and drove in for a dunk to give the Panthers a 47-44 lead with 16:02 remaining.

A short time later, Horton drained a 3-pointer, Toney added a layup and Champagnie slammed home a fast-break dunk as Pitt took a 59-48 advantage with 12:28 to play.

Syracuse used a 10-2 burst to pull within three. But a short time later, Johnson buried a 3-pointer and Champagnie added two free throws to give the Panthers a 69-60 lead with 7:40 left.

Pitt soon expanded the lead further with eight straight points. Horton capped the flurry with a jumper to make it 77-62 with 5:02 remaining and the Panthers cruised to the finish.

Guerrier scored 12 points and Dolezaj added 11 as Syracuse held a 37-32 halftime lead.

The Panthers missed their first 10 field-goal attempts but recovered to take their first lead at 22-21 on Johnson's three-point play with 6:07 left in the half.

--Field Level Media