Orange Earn Critical Road Win in Miami

Saturday, February 17

Coral Gables, FL

12 PM.

Syracuse University

18-9 (7-7ACC)

Miami

18-7 (7-7ACC)

Syracuse

Miami

Photo by: David Gunn

2/17/2018 2:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Junior guard Frank Howard tallied 18 points and six assists and led Syracuse (18-9, 7-7 ACC) men's basketball team to a critical 62-55 victory at rv/rv Miami (18-7, 7-7 ACC) on Saturday.

Freshman forward Oshae Brissett added 16 points and 12 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Tyus Battle and freshman forward Marek Dolezaj added 13 and 11 points each, respectively.

Chris Lykes had a team-best 14 points and four assists to lead Miami. Lonnie Walker was the only other Hurricane to score in double figures adding 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field.

Coach Boeheim Said
"Everybody in this league is good. It doesn't matter where you play or who you play, it's a tough game. To come on the road and win, obviously, is big.

"I thought Oshae [Brissett] was great tonight and Frank [Howard]. Tyus [Battle] had an off game, but he's going to make that shot at the end -- he's made them all year -- And that was the game, I thought. Between Marek's (Dolezaj) two and then that three."

How it was Decided
With 1:52 left in the contest, a layup by Lykes narrowed Syracuse's advantage to 54-41 and kept Miami's hopes alive. Battle answered on the next possession with a 3-pointer. When Miami scored again, the Orange turned to Battle again, who provided a free throw after being fouled. Two free throws by Sam Waardenburg with 25 seconds left pulled the Hurricanes within three again, 58-55, and allowed Miami to set its full-court press. The hosts fouled Dolejah with 19 ticks left and he responded with two free throws. Battle iced the contest with two more from the charity stripe with nine seconds remaining.

Game Summary
Battle gave 'Cuse its first lead of the game when he scored on back-to-back possessions to provide the Orange a 7-5 advantage. Brissett capped off a 9-3 Syracuse run with a dunk to give the Orange an 11-8 lead at the first media timeout.

Miami's Lykes made it a one-possession game, 16-13, with six minutes to play in the first half, but Brissett answered with a layup to make it 18-13.

A 7-0 run by the Hurricanes gave Miami its first lead since the opening minutes of the game, 21-20, with 2:06 to play. The game was tied at 25 at halftime.

It was all Brissett in the first half as the first-year forward led all scorers with nine points and seven rebounds while going 4-for-9 from the field. The Orange shot 36.7 percent and held Miami to 32.0 percent from the floor (8-for-25). 'Cuse maintained the lead for 11:22 in the first half and led by as many as seven with 8:02 to go in the half.

Miami scored first to begin the second frame but a 15-0 run by the Orange gave Syracuse its first double-figure lead of the game at 15:37, 38-28. After a more than five-minute drought for the Hurricanes, Miami stormed back with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to six, 40-34, with just under 12 minutes left. 'Cuse extended its lead back to nine with a 3-pointer from Brissett at 11:43 but Miami answered with a trey of its own by Newton which sparked a 9-0 run to tie the game at 43 with 9:16 to go.

A layup by Brissett at 8:42 ended a 15-3 Miami run and gave the Orange the lead back. Syracuse was able to hold off a late push by the Canes to win by seven, 62-55.

The Orange shot 63.6 percent (14-for-22) from the field in the second half and held Miami to 35.3 percent and just 25 percent from 3-point range.

Numbers of Note
Syracuse's 15-0 run in the second half was the team's best since a 18-0 stretch against Texas Southern in November.

Brissett had his 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field (7-for-14).

Howard had a game-high 18 points, 12 of which he scored in the second half of the game.

What's Next
Syracuse returns home to face North Carolina on Wednesday, Feb. 21, in a 7 p.m. tip at the Carrier Dome. Tickets can be purchased online at the Carrier Dome Box Office, or by calling 888-DOME-TIX.