Joseph has 17, Syracuse holds off Marquette 73-66
By
SU ATHLETICS
Story Created:
Jan 7, 2012 at 8:04 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Jan 7, 2012 at 11:47 PM EDT
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A tale of two halves saw No. 1 Syracuse (17-0, 4-0) hold off No. 20 Marquette (12-4, 1-2) for a 73-66 victory on Saturday evening at the Carrier Dome.
SU built an 18 point halftime lead (37-19), thanks in part to a 19-0 run in the middle of the first half. Syracuse's largest lead of the game would reach 23 at 35-12 with 2:12 remaining in the half when James Southerland buried a baseline jumper.
The Orange held Marquette scoreless for 9:39, and held the Golden Eagles without a field goal for 11:10 during its 19-0 spurt. SU's defense forced 12 first half Marquette turnovers and held the Golden Eagles to 30 percent from the floor (6-of-20).
The Orange shot 42 percent in the opening frame (15-of-36) and assisted on 12 of its 15 made field goals. Brandon Triche led all scorers at the break with 13 points and nailed three from behind the arch.
However, the Golden Eagles stormed out of the locker room and opened the second half with a 15-5 run, cutting SU's lead to eight at 42-34 with 14:33 remaining.
SU weathered the storm and increased its lead back to double-digits with Triche's fourth three of the game, but Marquette continued chip into the Orange advantage. Darius Johnson-Odom's three-pointer with 5:15 remaining brought Marquette to within two at 59-57; the closet the contest had been since it was 12-11 at 13:31 of the first half.
After Baye Keita connected on two free throws, Dion Waiters made the play of the game by blocking Johnson-Odom's three point attempt and converting on the other end to extend the Orange lead back to six at 63-57.
From there, SU iced the game with a Kris Joseph long range dagger and an alley-oop from Scoop Jardine to Fab Melo for a 68-60 advantage with 1:31 to go. The Orange made 3-of-6 from the line in the final minute and put the game out of reach.
Joseph had a team-high 17 points while Brandon Triche tallied 16 points for the second-consecutive game. C.J. Fair and Waiters had 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Waiters had a season-high seven assists to lead Syracuse, and also contributed four rebounds and three steals. Despite being in foul trouble the entire game, Fab Melo had six points and shared a team-high eight rebounds with Fair. Melo also drew four charges in the first half.
Johnson-Odom led the Golden Eagles with 19 points, while Jae Crowder chipped in with 15. The Eagles shot 17-of-37 in the second half (46 percent) and finished 6-of-26 from behind the arch for the game.
The top ranked Orange puts its unblemished record on the line this Wednesday night when SU travels to face Villanova. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m., and will be televised on ESPN2.
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