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Jackson, Syracuse top MSU in Jimmy V Classic

Dec 8, 2010 - 7:48 AM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Rick Jackson dominated down low with 17 points and 16 rebounds, and No. 8 Syracuse led nearly wire-to-wire in a 72-58 victory over No. 7 Michigan State as part of the Jimmy V Classic.

Jackson fell one rebound shy of the tournament record for the Orange (9-0), who proved they belong among the nation's elite in their first game against a ranked opponent. Scoop Jardine added a game-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Kris Joseph contributed 14 points in the victory.

Syracuse was able to get to the line often in this contest, going 22-of-29 from the charity stripe. Michigan State, conversely, went just 9-of-16.

"We played as well defensively as we can play," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. "(Michigan State) run a lot of different screens, a lot of different sets at you. We've been playing good defense, but we were really good at the defensive end."

Durrell Summers scored 18 points for the Spartans (6-3), who have split their last six games, with losses against Top-10 teams Connecticut and Duke. Korie Lucious had 10 points in defeat for Michigan State.

MSU was doomed by its three-point shooting, which wasn't good enough to beat the Orange's 2-3 zone. Summers went 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, but the rest of the team was just 3-of-15.

"We had our share of ridiculous turnovers again, but still had some chances and just didn't do the job when we could've," said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. "We didn't follow the game plan."

The Spartans held a 10-9 edge early, but Syracuse scored the next eight points to build a lead.

C.J. Fair and Jackson each hit a pair of shots to put the Orange ahead by seven, and a stretch of six straight points shortly thereafter had Syracuse ahead, 25-13, following a Joseph layup with 9 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

Michigan State responded with a 10-2 run to cut its deficit to 27-23 on a Kalin Lucas layup, but the Orange closed out the half with six of the final eight points. Two Joseph free throws in the final minute put Syracuse up 38-29 going into halftime.

The Spartans made a push early in the second half with a 12-2 burst. Derrick Nix's three-point play with 13:16 left trimmed the margin to 48-46, but a Dion Waiters three-pointer and Jardine three-point play put Syracuse back up by nine, 56-47, with nine minutes to play.

The Orange put the game away with a late 8-0 run -- four points each from Brandon Triche and Jardine made it a 68-52 contest with 2:18 left.

Michigan State scored only five points during a 10-minute span between Draymond Green's free throw with 12:24 left to his pair of free throws with just over two minutes to go, allowing Syracuse to pull away.

Game Notes

The Orange lead the all-time series, 10-7, and have won the last four meetings...These two teams hadn't faced off since 2004...Syracuse has started 9-0 for the third consecutive season...Green grabbed 11 rebounds for Michigan State.