Final
Christmas leads Syracuse past No. 12 Louisville
Feb 19, 2015 - 3:41 AM Syracuse, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Rakeem Christmas scored 29 points to help Syracuse beat 12th-ranked Louisville 69-59 on Wednesday night at the Carrier Dome.Christmas added eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals as the former Big East rivals clashed for the first time as members of the ACC.
Michael Gbinije had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Orange (17-9, 8-5 ACC), who have won three of their last five games.
Terry Rozier scored 17 points to pace a Louisville team that played without starting guard Chris Jones. Jones, the Cardinals' third-leading scorer and top assist man, was suspended for at least Wednesday's game because of a rules violation.
"We missed (Jones) a lot, but it's his selfishness that hurt the team," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. "I'm not one that believes in suspensions. I believe in punishment where you get up in the morning, lift weights and have a curfew at night. This was not a decision by me. It's all cleared up.
"He could play the next game if he does what the assistant coaches tell him to do. If he doesn't, he sits again and I don't care if he sits the whole season to tell you the truth, I couldn't care less."
Montrezl Harrell posted 15 points and nine rebounds in the second straight loss for the Cardinals (20-6, 8-5).
Syracuse was down three midway through the second half, but Christmas supplied six points during an 8-0 run that left the Orange with a 52-47 lead. Gbinije found Tyler Roberson for the alley-oop dunk to make it 60-52 with 4:32 remaining.
The Orange made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
"We scored but it was mainly our defense that was the difference in the game," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.
Harrell hit two free throws to cap a 15-5 run and push Louisville's lead to 21-13 with 11:44 left in the first half.
The Orange, though, scored the next nine points and went up 22-21 when Gbinije made a jumper in the lane after disrupting Rozier on a dunk attempt.
But the Cardinals responded with a 7-0 burst, and they carried a 32-28 advantage into the break.
Game Notes
Louisville's Wayne Blackshear fouled out with zero points, zero rebounds and zero assists ... Roberson had 13 points and nine rebounds ... The Cardinals were outscored 21-7 at the foul line.
- LOUISVILLE: 59
SYRACUSE: 69
Final
Feb 18 8:59 PM - 166
roots - 141
roots - 113
rootsRUWTbot Took away 44 roots (Close Finish, Upset)
Louisville(12) 52, Syracuse 58 2nd - 5:07Feb 18 8:42 PM - 152
rootsRUWTbot Took away 22 roots (Close Finish, Upset)
Louisville(12) 52, Syracuse 56 2nd - 5:21Feb 18 8:41 PM - 174
rootsRUWTbot Took away 22 roots (Close Finish, Upset)
Louisville(12) 52, Syracuse 55 2nd - 5:21Feb 18 8:41 PM - 196
roots - 186
roots - 140
rootsRUWTbot Took away 18 roots (Close Finish, Upset)
Louisville(12) 50, Syracuse 54 2nd - 6:16Feb 18 8:39 PM - 158
rootsRUWTbot Took away 18 roots (Close Finish, Upset)
Louisville(12) 50, Syracuse 53 2nd - 6:16Feb 18 8:39 PM - 176
roots - 140
roots - 134
roots - 122
rootsRUWTbot Took away 24 roots (Close Finish, Upset)
Louisville(12) 47, Syracuse 51 2nd - 8:37Feb 18 8:29 PM - 146
roots - 136
roots - LOUISVILLE: 32
SYRACUSE: 28
Halftime
Feb 18 7:44 PM - LOUISVILLE: 0
SYRACUSE: 0
1st Half - 20:00
Feb 18 7:05 PM
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