SYRACUSE - Ninth-ranked Syracuse has been searching for a third scoring option to complement senior forward Hakim Warrick and junior guard Gerry McNamara, who together average nearly 37 points per game.

Now, head coach Jim Boeheim just might have finally found his man in Louie McCroskey. The Bronx-born, 6-foot-5 sophomore guard, who lost his starting job to Billy Edelin in Saturday's win at No. 25 Villanova, came off the bench Monday night and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes - all career bests - in a tough 68-64 home loss to No. 17 Pittsburgh.

"Louie came in and had a tremendous game. I'm pretty happy with that," said Boeheim, whose march toward 700 career wins remains two short.

McCroskey played the first eight games of the season as a reserve behind classmate Demetris Nichols, who switched from guard to forward after the second game of the season .

Boeheim gave McCroskey his first college start against Binghamton in December, and he responded by scoring a career-high 11 points in 28 minutes. For the Orange's Big East opener at St. John's on Jan. 5, McCroskey started at forward and again scored 11 points.

Just when his game seemed to be coming around, he became tentative, aiming his shots, passing up wide-open looks, and committing turnovers, and his production plummeted.

In the ensuing 10 games after the win over the Red Storm, McCroskey had four games with four points, two games with two points, and one with no points, his second scoreless game of the season. And although he has demonstrated a deft shooting touch from long range, he went 2-for-17 on 3-pointers during that stretch.

Perhaps becoming a starter was a bit overwhelming.

"He never said a word," Boeheim said, referring to McCroskey's reaction to the loss of his starting slot. "In fact, he told me he'd be happy coming off the bench. I think it released the pressure on him."

On Monday night, McCroskey was reborn. He came out with a newfound intensity, fighting aggressively for rebounds, and stunned the Panthers early with seven points in a 31-second span - one more point than he scored in the previous two games combined. That surge helped pull Syracuse back from a six-point deficit and into the lead.

McCroskey began his personal attack by hitting a driving layup at 11:52, converted another layup seven seconds later after McNamara stole the ball off the ensuing inbounds pass, then drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to give Syracuse a 17-14 lead at 11:45. It was his first 3 in seven games.

"Louie was big," said Warrick, who had season-lows of 12 points and three rebounds. "If he wasn't there, we would have never been in the game."

McCroskey continued his aggressive play in the second half, adding consecutive layups to give the Orange a 44-39 lead at 13:06.

But as the game tightened in the closing minutes and Pitt stormed back from an eight-point deficit to win, McCroskey missed two 3-pointers, threw a bad pass in the lane that resulted in a costly turnover, and airballed a baseline runner over the net with just over three minutes to go.

"I'm not a good player when I'm tentative," McCroskey said. "I was a little indecisive on some of my shots and then over-confident, which caused me to overshoot the rim. I missed when I was wide open. It caught me by surprise because I was so open. You live and learn."

That's what coach is counting on.

"He played great," Boeheim said. "He had two or three open shots at the end, but that's something he'll get used to. These are the kind of games that guys like him need."