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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