Final
No. 2 Orange squeeze out first loss for 'Nova
Dec 28, 2013 - 11:19 PM Syracuse, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Trevor Cooney scored 21 points and No. 2 Syracuse withstood an early barrage from Villanova before pulling away for a 78-62 victory in a top-10 matchup of former conference rivals from the Carrier Dome.The Orange (12-0) fell behind 25-7 nine minutes in after the Wildcats sank five of their first seven attempts from 3-point range, but used an improved defensive effort and big performances from Cooney and Tyler Ennis to overcome their early deficit and remain unbeaten while dealing Villanova its first loss of the season.
Cooney knocked down 5-of-8 shots from beyond the arc and Ennis tallied 20 points to aid the rally. C.J. Fair helped Syracuse's cause as well by posting 17 points and six rebounds.
"It showed a lot about us tonight," said Cooney. "We didn't want to get down so much, but then we were able to come out and get some stops and get a lot of big buckets. It just showed a lot about us."
Villanova (11-1) went just 5-of-24 on 3-point tries after its early success and shot only 38 percent overall for the contest. James Bell netted a game- high 25 points in a losing cause, accounting for six of the Wildcats' 10 makes from long distance.
"We certainly did not play our best game, but Syracuse had a lot to do with that," said Villanova head coach Jay Wright.
Bell sank a trio of 3-pointers in the game's first five minutes, the last staking Villanova to a quick 15-5 advantage, and the Wildcats followed with a 10-2 run that Josh Hart capped with a thunderous fast-break dunk to put Syracuse in an 18-point hole near the midway mark of the first half.
The Wildcats' offense then went cold, missing nine straight shots during a scoreless drought that lasted nearly seven minutes. Syracuse ripped off 20 consecutive points during the dry spell to pull ahead.
Cooney dropped in eight points and Fair had six during the Orange's momentum- shifting tear, which ended on an Ennis layup that put Syracuse up 27-25 with 4:52 left in the half.
"We finally got our offense going and Trevor [had] a couple of good looks and C.J. a couple looks and then our defense started to pick up," said Orange head coach Jim Boeheim. "We didn't give them any looks. That's what I'm most proud of."
A Dylan Ennis jumper finally halted the Wildcats' scoreless stretch, but a Cooney trey followed by a 3-point play from Tyler Ennis sent the Orange ahead by a 33-27 count three minutes prior to intermission. Syracuse took a 38-34 edge into the break.
The Orange countered a Bell three to begin the second half with nine straight points to increase the margin to 47-37 and were up by eight with under 10 minutes left before Villanova closed the gap. Hart and Bell both sank 3- pointers during a 7-2 spurt that pulled the Wildcats within 56-53 with 7:02 to play.
Bell's sixth triple of the afternoon kept Villanova in striking distance at 64-59 with 3:26 remaining, but the Wildcats didn't make a field goal the rest of the way as Syracuse put the game out of reach.
Up 71-62 with just over a minute left, the Orange hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to win going away.
Game Notes
The schools were meeting in a non-conference setting for the first time since the 1980 NCAA Tournament, a 97-83 Syracuse win in an East Region matchup. Villanova joined the Orange in the Big East the following season, with the two remaining conference rivals until Syracuse's departure for the ACC this year ... Villanova's 62 points was a season-low and more than 20 under its season average of 82.5 points per game ... The win was Syracuse's 50th straight against a non-conference opponent at the Carrier Dome ... The Orange host Eastern Michigan Thursday before facing Miami at the Carrier Dome next Saturday in their first-ever ACC game.
- VILLANOVA: 62
SYRACUSE: 78
Final
Dec 28 4:20 PM - 87
roots - 113
rootsRUWTbot Took away 25 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 59, Syracuse(2) 66 2nd - 3:15Dec 28 4:04 PM - 138
rootsRUWTbot Took away 25 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 59, Syracuse(2) 65 2nd - 3:15Dec 28 4:04 PM - 163
rootsRUWTbot Added 5 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 59, Syracuse(2) 64 2nd - 3:15Dec 28 4:04 PM - 158
rootsRUWTbot Added 70 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 59, Syracuse(2) 64 2nd - 3:26Dec 28 4:03 PM - 88
roots - 111
rootsRUWTbot Took away 20 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 56, Syracuse(2) 63 2nd - 3:41Dec 28 4:03 PM - 131
rootsRUWTbot Added 44 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 56, Syracuse(2) 62 2nd - 4:10Dec 28 3:58 PM - 87
roots - 106
rootsRUWTbot Added 18 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 54, Syracuse(2) 61 2nd - 5:13Dec 28 3:56 PM - 88
roots - 106
rootsRUWTbot Took away 56 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 53, Syracuse(2) 59 2nd - 6:43Dec 28 3:52 PM - 157
rootsRUWTbot Added 20 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 53, Syracuse(2) 56 2nd - 7:02Dec 28 3:51 PM - 137
rootsRUWTbot Added 6 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 52, Syracuse(2) 56 2nd - 7:02Dec 28 3:51 PM - 131
rootsRUWTbot Added 48 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 52, Syracuse(2) 56 2nd - 7:20Dec 28 3:51 PM - 83
roots - 107
rootsRUWTbot Added 25 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 49, Syracuse(2) 54 2nd - 9:25Dec 28 3:45 PM - 82
roots - 93
rootsRUWTbot Added 12 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 46, Syracuse(2) 52 2nd - 9:54Dec 28 3:44 PM - VILLANOVA: 34
SYRACUSE: 38
Halftime
Dec 28 2:57 PM - 76
rootsRUWTbot Took away 31 roots (Upset, Ranked Teams)
Villanova(8) 25, Syracuse(2) 23 1st - 5:58Dec 28 2:44 PM - 107
roots - VILLANOVA: 0
SYRACUSE: 0
1st Half - 20:00
Dec 28 2:07 PM
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