Kansas City Comeback! Orange Rallies to Win CBE Classic with 89-81 OT Victory Against Kansas

Tuesday, November 25

Sprint Center

10:15 p.m.

Syracuse University

Kansas

Jonny Flynn hit a three with six seconds to go in the second half to force overtime against Kansas.

Kansas City Comeback! Orange Rallies to Win CBE Classic with 89-81 OT Victory Against Kansas

11/26/2008 1:03:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Orange (5-0) rallied back from a 13-point deficit in the second half and outscored defending national champion Kansas by the count of 17-9 in overtime to defeat the #22/23 Jayhawks, 89-81, and win the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at the Sprint Center. Sophomore Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) scored a game-high 25 points in the contest, including 17 in the second half, to help erase the deficit.

Flynn was 6-for-12 from the field in the game, including two 3-pointers. It was his trey from the left wing with six seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 72-72 and forced OT. In the extra session, junior Arinze Onuaku (Lanham, Md.) scored five points and Eric Devendorf (Bay City, Mich.) tallied four of 20 points to help secure the tournament championship.

It was the fifth time in five outings this season Flynn has either owned or shared the team scoring lead. In addition to his six field goals, he set a career high with 11 made free throws, going 11-for-16 in the game from the charity stripe. Flynn averaged 21.5 ppg in Syracuse's two wins in Kansas City to earn tournament MVP honors.

Onuaku and junior Paul Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) each recorded double-doubles for the second night in a row. Onuaku had a season-best 19 points and 12 rebounds. Harris tallied 14 points and a team-best 14 boards to join Flynn on the all-tournament team.

Syracuse trailed by 11 at halftime and found itself down 13 points, 51-38, with 15:21 to go in regulation after seven straight Kansas markers. However, just when it looked like the Jayhawks (3-1) would put the game out of reach, the Orange found its rhythm. Syracuse used a 16-4 run over the next 4:42 to knot the game at 54-54. Harris and Flynn combined for 12 of SU's points during the stretch and a Harris free throw tied the contest with 10:09 to play.

A big reason for the Orange's turnaround was the play of its defense. Head coach Jim Boeheim scrapped the 2-3 zone in favor of a pressure man-to-man set and Syracuse forced turnovers on three straight Kansas possessions that resulted in transition baskets during the critical scoring spurt.

The Orange briefly took the lead, 57-56, on a Rautins three at the 8:31 mark, but a Cole Aldrich jumper sparked a 7-0 Kansas run that gave the Jayhawks a 63-57 advantage and forced Boeheim to use a timeout with 5:43 to go. On the restart, Devendorf drilled a three to cut the margin in half, but back-to-back baskets by Tyshawn Taylor and Marcus Morris pushed the Kansas lead to 67-60 with 3:51 remaining. From there it was all Flynn. He scored 10 of Syracuse's final 12 points in regulation, including two free throws with 1:12 left that tied the game at 69-69, and he buried the 3-pointer that forced overtime with just six seconds to play after Aldrich netted three straight points to lift the Jayhawks to a 72-69 advantage.

With the momentum clearly favoring Syracuse, Onuaku converted a three-point play at the start of overtime. Kansas responded with a Morris hoop and two Aldrich free throws to claim a 76-75 lead, but the Orange scored the next nine points to finally gain control of the contest and went on to produce the eight-point triumph.

The Orange was 28-of-58 (48.3 pct.) from the field in the contest and 25-of-37 (67.6 pct.) from the foul line. Syracuse hit six of its nine attempts from the charity stripe in overtime. Kansas was 31-74 (41.9 pct) from the floor Tuesday and the Jayhawks made just 11-of-20 (55.0 pct.) free throws. Kansas struggled from the line in the second half, making just four of its 11 attempts (36.4 pct.).

Sherron Collins led the Jayhawks with 21 points. Aldrich and Morris each recorded double-doubles. Aldrich had 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Morris finished with 11 points and 11 boards. Taylor contributed 17 points.

In the opening half, Syracuse got taken out of its rhythm when Harris and Onuaku each picked up two fouls in the first 10 minutes. In addition, the Jayhawks forced some early Orange turnovers to fuel a 12-2 run that resulted in a 20-10 Kansas lead with 9:28 to go in the period. Taylor provided most of the offense for the Jayhawks in the spurt, scoring nine straight points.

Still down by 10 points, 26-16, and with less than six minutes left in the opening stanza, the Orange clawed to within 26-23 on two Flynn free throws, a 3-pointer by Devendorf and a Flynn slam in transition. However, Collins and Morris took over down the stretch for Kansas to push the margin back to double digits at halftime. The pair scored 12 of the Jayhawks' 15 points in the final 4:28 of the first half to give Kansas a 41-30 lead at the break and set the stage for Syracuse's thrilling comeback.

Tuesday's game was Boeheim's 1,054th as head coach of the Orange. He passed former Cheyney and Temple court boss John Chaney for 18th on the all-time list for the most games coached at the Division I level.

Syracuse returns to action on Friday, Nov. 28 when it takes on Virginia at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. Tickets for Friday's game are available online, by phone through Ticketmaster in the Syracuse area at (315) 472-0700, or in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office.