Syracuse Stuns #1 Duke in Overtime

The last time the Orange came to Cameron Indoor Stadium, they fell to Duke 60-44. In 2019, they looked to flip the script and shock the top ranked team in the nation.

Going into the game, defense was the key for Duke tonight, according to Coach K. He stressed a high paced game and to apply a lot of pressure on the Syracuse guards. Duke’s Cam Reddish was out due to an illness so the young team had to make due.

From the tip, the Orange trailed 11-0 with 17:18 in the first. Elijah Hughes made his way to the free throw line to score Syracuse’s first points four minutes into the game. Leading them to battle, Tyus Battle put up a quick 12 points 9 minutes into the game and added another dunk with 9:34 left in the 1st. He proved to be the force Syracuse needed at the start of the game to compete with the Blue Devils.

On the other hand, Duke’s Tre Jones collided with Frank Howard, injuring his shoulder, causing him to miss the rest of the game. From this, Zion Williamson showed his leadership abilities, earning multiple shots at the free throw line through aggressive attack play. Syracuse soon found four players with three fouls at the end of the first half.

Elijah Hughes continued to provide for the Orange in the first as he hit a three-quarter court shot that swished through the net at the sound of the buzzer beater. The momentum was now in Syracuse’s hands as the Duke crowd sighed at the sight.

The momentum of that shot carried over to the second half for the Orange.

The 2nd half could be summed up as physical and aggressive. Duke came in fired up from the 9,000 fans, but Syracuse, unwavered, was determined to put up a fight. The Orange were locked in. With the zone, it was harder for Duke to box out Paschal Chukwu, who finished the night with 18 boards. Chukwu proved to be the key component of this game, bodying with Zion Williamson down low.

Battle continued to lead the Orange in the second half as he hit an outside jumper on the wing to bring Syracuse up 85-84 with 1:13 left.

With the clock winding down and Duke fans starting to get impatient, Zion drove down to the other end of the court, drawing a much needed foul, and earning two shots. The noise of the crowd resonated from the first shot made, before Williamson missed the second, sending the game to overtime.

Syracuse continued to bring the pressure in overtime, as the Orange’s offense remained dominate kicking off the five minutes.

The 17-point underdogs were up by four with 30 seconds to go in overtime. Duke’s offense seemed to be crumbling with every stumbled pass and anxious move. The Orange held the Blue Devils to 2-of-8 shooting.

At the sound of the final buzzer, the Syracuse began cheering in elation as the team topped the nation’s best, Duke, 95-91 to earn their second victory in Durham since 2016.

Offensively, Syracuse was on tonight with five players finishing with double figures, including Tyus Battle, who has a season high of 32 points. Paschal Chukwu dominated the boards with 18 rebounds. Coach Boeheim said at the of the game that when Chukwu plays like he did tonight, the Orange are a different team.

Awesome Games Done Quick Found Perfect Partner in Prevent Cancer Foundation

Panelists Rick Avila (left), Dr. Kathleen Scmeler (second from left),
Dr. James Mulshine (second from right), and Erica Childs Warner (right),
discuss the ways Prevent Cancer Foundation uses funds from AGDQ.

Rockville, MD -- Awesome Games Done Quick’s (AGDQ) mission is straightforward and clear: to raise money for charity through gaming. The style of gameplay, however, has some people scratching their heads in confusion.

Speed running is a specific style of esports, one that pits players against the clock. Using precise movement and manipulation of the game’s physics, a speed runner can beat games in times no one could predict. For example, the world record time for collecting 120 stars in “Super Mario 64” for the Nintendo 64 game console, is 1:39.19 by Allan “Cheese” Alvarez.

AGDQ 2019 is a week-long marathon of speed runs of a variety of games. Money is primarily raised through donations to the Games Done Quick website. Viewers watching on twitch.tv/gamesdonequick can also donate by subscribing to the channel.

Lost in Translation

Don’t feel frustrated if the concept is befuddling at first. The Prevent Cancer Foundation^®

(Foundation) had a hard time understanding it when Michael Uyama, founder of AGDQ, first contacted the organization about being a beneficiary. 

“Mike called and got Linda Chastain, who was in charge of events at the time, and she was like ‘Wow, this is strange,” Janet Hudson, Managing Director at the Foundation, said. “They’re playing games, and they’re running fast. She really thought they were running.”

According to Uyama, the Foundation was one of three cancer foundations he had reached out to in 2011 and was the only organization to reply. Aside from uncertainty about what AGDQ was, the Foundation was further thrust out of its comfort zone when Uyama requested it make a PayPal account. In hindsight, Hudson believed PayPal was pivotal in showcasing the Foundation to a global audience.

A Little Trust Goes a Long Way

The Foundation’s trust in Uyama was immediately rewarded. Despite drawing a crowd of just 50 people at the first event, AGDQ raised nearly $53,000 for the Foundation. The number was staggering to both Chastain and Uyama, whose Classic Games Done Quick in 2010, raised more than $10,500 for CARE, a nonprofit organization that provides disaster relief and poverty solutions around the world.

“Our initial goal was $20,000, because we wanted to double what we did the last time,” Uyama said. “By the time we beat $40,000, Linda Chastain was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing. This is so crazy.’ She said that was enough to fund half of a grant study that the Prevent Cancer Foundation^® funds.”

The union between the two organizations has remained in place ever since. As AGDQ has grown, the Foundation has been able to secure more funding to award grants for cancer prevention research for low resource countries. AGDQ 2018 raised nearly $2.3 million for the Foundation and garnered more than $100,000 on the first day of the 2019 event.

Where the Funds Go

The Foundation hosted a panel at the start of this year’s AGDQ that went into detail about how the funds were dispersed. Among the panelists were Dr. Kathleen Schmeler, who works at the Department of Gynecology Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at the Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. 

Dr. Schmeler detailed how cervical cancer is the most frequent type of cancer among women in Mozambique. She went on to describe how funds from AGDQ have helped create courses in Mozambique aimed at teaching that nation’s doctors how to determine if a patient has human papillomavirus, the virus that causes cervical cancer, and treating it before it develops into cancer.

According to Carolyn Aldigé, the Foundation’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, the Foundation does its due diligence when determining who will receive grants made possible by the money raised at AGDQ. After researchers submit proposals to the Foundation, another panel of experts reviews the proposals and determines whether or not they will receive support.

“Even if we know and like the people who submit, they don’t all get approved,” Aldigé said. “If the experts say it’s missing this, that, or the other, we don’t recommend it for funding.”

A Happy Marriage

There appears to be mutual interest from AGDQ and the Foundation to keep the partnership going into the foreseeable future. Uyama is pleased with the pace at which the alliance has developed and wants to see it continue. The financial support AGDQ provides for the Foundation is not lost on Aldigé. 

“I want Mike, his colleagues, and all of the people that come to this event, to know just how grateful we are to have these funds,” Aldigé said. “They enable us to do so much amazing work around the world.”

Irish Keep Their Perfect Season in Tact, Steamroll Orange 36-3

The Fighting Irish improved to 11-0 and are one game away
from their first College Football Playoff. (c) Sam Carter 2018

Story by Dominick Muccilo
Photos by Sam Carter

BRONX, N.Y. - Once dubbed “New York’s College team” on signs in Yankee Stadium, Syracuse couldn’t have felt less at home on Saturday afternoon. This time, the end zones read, “Notre Dame” in a Yankees style script, the Irish’s logo was on both 20 yard lines, and Notre Dame players had pinstripe pants on. Justin Tuck, a Super Bowl champion and Notre Dame alum, came onto the big screen at the start of the game to a roar from the sellout crowd, which mainly consisted of fans in green and gold. The small percentage of the 48,104 that were draped in Orange made up most of the left field section of the Stadium, and by the middle of the 4th quarter, most had filed out. 

Dreams of a New Year’s Six Bowl game were squashed for the Syracuse Orange on national television. In fact, by the end of the first quarter, things were already looking grim. After winning the toss and going three-and-out on their first possession, it didn’t take long for Ian Book and the Irish offense to find their tempo. Book, the junior quarterback, lead a 55 yard drive down the field that ended with a Dexter Williams touchdown for the first score of the game. With a chance for Syracuse to answer, Eric Dungey was intercepted by Notre Dame Safety Jalen Elliot when looking for Taj Harris over the middle. Just like that, Notre Dame held a 10-0 lead 8 minutes into the contest. However, that would prove to be the least of the Orange’s problems. 

On the ensuing possession, senior quarterback Eric Dungey rushed up the middle for a gain of four yards. He popped up and as he was getting ready for the next play, Dungey grabbed his back and fell over in pain. For several minutes the medical staff tended to him and eventually helped him off the field, which meant the New Jersey native Tommy DeVito’s number would be called on yet again. No stranger to coming off the bench, Head Coach Dino Babers didn’t hesitate to draw up a play. DeVito launched a 42-yard strike to Nykiem Johnson who appeared to come up with it in the end zone, then had it narrowly slip through his grasp once he hit the ground. This chance for the Orange would be the only time they came close to making it a ballgame. 

DeVito was forced to suit up in a big spot yet again after
Dungy left with a back injury (c) Sam Carter 2018

Ian Book, the 3-star recruit who came into today leading country in completion percentage (74.5) showed no signs of rust after being sidelined last week with a rib injury. By halftime, the Irish lead 20-0 and the junior had 253 passing yards and a touchdown. Book said Dexter Williams, Notre Dame’s running back who had two scores on the day, was a huge part of their game plan. 

“Getting the ball to Dexter any way we can is what we want to do,” Book said. 

Book was able to find him once through the air, and leaned on him to open up the pass, as the NFL prospect ran for 5.7 yards per carry. If the Irish hadn’t settled for field goals in Syracuse territory three different times, the score would have been even more lopsided. 

The whole afternoon the Orange couldn’t get anything going on offense, something Head Coach Dino babers doesn’t necessarily attribute to being without Eric Dungey. 

“I don’t know if that was that big of a blow,” Babers said. “There were a lot of mistakes, missed tackles, dropped balls, dropped touchdowns in the end zone.” 

Dexter Williams' 32-yard score put Notre Dame up 36-0.
He had 13 carries for 74 yards on the day. (c) Sam Carter 2018

As for Eric Dungey, his coach said that he was unsure of the severity of Dungey’s injury and his status for next week at Boston College is unknown. Redshirt freshman Tommy DeVito did the best he could to fill the void, but it wasn’t enough. DeVito was 14 for 31 with no touchdowns and two interceptions on the day. 

“Their defense played really well, you’ve got to give them props,” DeVito said. “It’s just a bunch of little things, we need put things together and get drives going to help the defense out.” 

Notre Dame hung 36 points on the Syracuse defense, but perhaps it was because they were exhausted. The Irish held possession for 32 minutes in the game and the Orange had four three-and-out drives. 

Next week, the Orange travel to Boston College to face the 20th ranked Eagles in a noon matchup on ESPN. For Coach Babers, he thinks the team needs to shape up in a hurry. 

“We need to get back and regroup,” Babers said. “Get back to playing the football we’re used to playing."

More photos from the game: 

By: Kylan W. Watson

The Syracuse football team dominated the Louisville Cardinals, winning 54-23 on senior day, in front of 42, 797 fans. The Cardinals had plenty of chances to make it interesting against the Orange, but four early turnovers would seal their fate.   

“Words doesn’t give it justice,” Syracuse head football coachDino Babers said. “Couple of head coaching changes, a whole bunch of coordinator changes. Players that are in and out. Some players that are with us, some players that left, that didn’t have faith. Believe without evidence that we could get it done. I’m just really proud of that class. The things we were able to accomplish. They will be etched in stone forever.”

The Orange were able to rely mostly on their rushing attack on the offensive side of the ball. Syracuse had 326 total rushing yards. They were led by junior Moe Neal who had 159 total yards and two touchdowns. Neal has continued his ascension as the feature back of this high-powered rushing attack.

Neal was not the only one who got in on the scoring action, as Eric Dungey had two rushing touchdowns and completed 13 of 25 passes for 189 yards, he threw a 65-yard bomb to sophomore Nykiem Johnson. Dungey put on a clinic in front of some loud fans.

“We wanted to smash these guys,” senior quarterback Eric Dungey said. “All those times they beat us, it was on our minds.”

On the defensive side of the ball, the Orange defensive line dominated the offensive line of the Cardinals.  Syracuse was able to get six turnovers against Louisville.  Syracuse also sacked the quarterback five times. 

(c), 2018 Kylan Watson

By: Kylan W. Watson

Bob Costas is a reporter who has seen a lot of gruesome stuff in his career and he wants to share his knowledge with others. The Radio Sports Broadcasting/ Play by Play class at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications was the first class to go through the concussion reporting workshop on Monday evening.

Costas came to Professor Olivia Stomski with an idea to start a class or program for students so they can learn how to report brain injuries in a responsible way.

It was created to leverage the power of the media to educate people on brain injuries.

The Media Project was created in conjunction with the Concussion Legacy Foundation.

Stomski says, “The leaders of the program are her, J.A. Adande, Andrea Kramer and Costas.”

The project was created to give reporters access to the cutting-edge technology that will bring about accurate reporting of concussions to take the small step in changing the culture, because most viewers, athletes, and families have not had formal education on how to identify concussions. Also, to eliminate the words dinged-up and toughening up from the dictionary of sports commentators.

Sam Carter, a student in the Play by Play class said, “I think it’s the next big wave and the future of sports broadcasting. Its kind of already here.”

The Play by Play class is the first of many that will be trained on how to report on concussions. More classes are coming to make sure the next generation of reporters, analysts, and commentators can report on concussions with accuracy and responsibility.

Concussion Class Photos

From Jersey to Dress

By Kendra Sheehan - At 4:56pm graduate student Isis Young was still on the basketball court, after the team had a dominating opening match against North Dakota. By 6:00pm, instead of basketball shoes and her number 23 jersey from the court, Young had transitioned to a red dress and heels and was seated at the anchor desk ready to switch rolls. Young serves as a sports analyst and last night she covered  the men’s basketball opener against Eastern Washington on the ACC Network pregame and half time show.

It was a hectic day as I had the chance to follow Young through the quick transition from student athlete to broadcaster. While her schedule is jam packed, Young says the immense time and effort she puts in to be successful at both is completely worth it.

“I tell people that I really love what I do,” said Young. “I love basketball. I love broadcasting.  You know I don't mind putting the time in to be able to do it when I truly enjoy what I'm doing.”

From a 3 point score to a steal, Young acted as the 6^th man on the court, bringing energy and speed into the game. After a great home opener it seemed effortless as she transitioned to providing a thoughtful analysis for the ACC Network.

Co-host of the ACC network show Drew Carter says with the incredible amount of time it takes to prepare for one show, he can’t imagine how Young is able to find time for it all.

“It's not just about the day of. Obviously this has to be crazy hectic for her but it's more about the day to day grind, “ said Carter. “I feel like I work a full time job as a student and doing all this stuff, and this is basically doing that two  fold and I can't even imagine doing that, it’s crazy.”

When I asked if there was ever any concern that she would make it in time for both, Carter said knowing the type of person Young is; there was never a doubt in his mind.

“I’ve hosted with former athletes and it wasn’t nearly as smooth,“ Carter said. “She is super super talented and very smart. I always tend to think that the quality of work ethic off the air translates on the air.”

Young also attributes her success to the strong support system she has back home. Her family was at the game showing their support with a warm embrace before she had to rush off the court. As a concerned parent, Young’s mother Denise Young wonders how she can manage it all.

“We absolutely get worried when she's gone to work and we wonder how she's really doing it all but I think it's a tribute to her time and skills and her dedication to both,”  she said. “One thing I like to say is that we're extremely proud of Isis and we wish her the best of luck in everything she does.”







Gallery Photos:
(c) 2018 Ashtyn Hiron