Friday, January 29, 2016

Orange Use Huge Run to Knock Off #25 Notre Dame

















SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Orange (14-7, 4-4 ACC) used a red-hot run in the first half to take down the #25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-6, 5-3 ACC) 81-66 at the Carrier Dome on Thursday night.

After falling behind 5-0 to start the contest, the Orange caught fire, going on a 23-1 run to take control of the game, establishing a lead it would never relinquish.

“We started hitting some shots,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “That always helps.”

The victory snapped the Irish’s four-game win streak and provided a nice bounce-back win for Syracuse after a tough loss to another nationally-ranked opponent in Virginia.

“We can score some points, but we scored a lot against Virginia and we couldn’t win,” Boeheim said. “We have to play better defense and that was really the difference tonight. Our defense was really good.”

Two-man Show in First Half

Trevor Cooney (15 points) and Tyler Lydon (13) were the two men who were most responsible for the Orange’s explosive showing in the first half.

Boeheim was particularly pleased to see Lydon take advantage of the opportunity presented to him  in his usual role coming off the bench, as the freshman finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“When they’re giving, he’s got to take them,” Boeheim said. “I don’t think that’ll happen too many times.”

While the Orange men were clearly able to find open shots, Cooney, who finished with a team-high 22 points, said it was the team’s defense that helped establish such a large early lead.

“It was all defense,” Cooney said. “We were taking away shots, we were taking away the high post, we were doing everything defensively. From that we were able to get out on offense and made some shots and made some plays.”

Irish Struggle Without Star

Notre Dame clearly missed the presence of junior guard Demetrius Jackson, who sat out with a hamstring injury. Jackson is leading the Irish in scoring (16.6 points per game) and assists (5.0 per game).

The Irish did get good production from V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, who led Notre Dame in scoring. Beachem had 22 points and Vasturia added 16. But without their star, the visitors simply couldn’t make a big run to get themselves back into the game.

“He’s [Jackson] obviously a very, very good player, one of the best point guards in this league,” Cooney said. “It changes a little bit with him out.”

Resume-Building Win

With the Orange men contending with the meat of their conference schedule, it’s important to note that they’ve been playing some of their best basketball against top competition. Their victory over the Fighting Irish was the Orange’s fourth triumph this season over a ranked opponent (the others coming against Connecticut, Texas A&M and Duke).

Boeheim saw this as an important win considering how difficult Syracuse’s league schedule has been to this point in the season.

“The schedule is horrific in this league this year,” Boeheim said. “It’s pretty obvious, everybody knows that.”

Game Notes

While both teams shot roughly the same from the floor, the Orange had a big advantage at the free throw line, going 15 for 16, while Notre Dame shot just 63 percent (10-16).


During the pregame warm-ups the Orange wore shirts bearing the name ‘Pearl’ on the front in honor of former Syracuse great Pearl Washington. Washington has been battling a brain tumor.


Thursday night’s game featured a ‘Dress Like Coach Boeheim Night’ contest. Students were challenged to pull off their best Boeheim outfit and performance from his younger days, with the coach’s wife Juli deciding the winner.

When asked about the contest, Boeheim said he didn’t watch the contestants but remarked with a smile, “I probably wouldn’t have won it.”

Up Next

The Orange continues its four-game home stand with a Saturday contest against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12-8, 2-5 ACC) on Jan. 30 at noon. The game will be available on ESPNU.

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