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Syracuse University
at Michigan State
15/17 Syracuse Holds On For 76-75 Win At Michigan State
2/23/2003 4:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State's 80th-consecutive sellout crowd of 14,759 fell silent when the final buzzer sounded at the Breslin Center on Sunday. The 15/17 Syracuse men's basketball team handed the Spartans only their fifth loss in that sellout streak, a 76-75 decision. The Orangemen improved to 19-4, while MSU slipped to 14-11 and 11-2 at home this season.
SU held a six-point lead with 2:29 left in the game. Chris Hill broke the Michigan State record with his 10th three-pointer of the afternoon with 1:15 remaining, cutting Syracuse's advantage to three, 76-73. Alan Anderson hit a pair of free-throws with 37 seconds left to put the Spartans one possession away from victory, 76-75. After Orange freshman #Billy Edelin# missed the front end of a one-and-one with 35 ticks to play, Adam Ballinger took the ball to the other end. Michigan State called two timeouts during its final possession, but the Syracuse defense wouldn't allow them to penetrate. Kelvin Torbert got inside with six seconds on the clock, but his shot went off the rim. Anderson rebounded it, but his final attempt with one second left wouldn't go and the Orangemen got away with the victory.
Freshman #Carmelo Anthony# led Syracuse with 25 points and four assists along with seven defensive rebounds. His 16th 20-plus point game of the year moved him ahead of Billy Owens (1988-89) on SU's single-season freshman scoring ledger. Anthony, whose official website is at www.suathletics.com/carmelo, has 502 points on the season. Sophomore #Hakim Warrick# finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Senior #Kueth Duany# added 10 points, and freshman #Billy Edelin# contributed 10 points off the bench.
Hill's record 10 three-pointers gave him a game-high 34 points. The previous Spartan mark was held by Shawn Respert who hit nine trifectas in a Jan. 11, 1995 game against Indiana. Aloysius Anagonye had 13 points and seven boards, while Paul Davis finished with 10 points.
In the first half, Anthony scored 12 of his 15 first-half points within a three-minute span starting at 15:11. The Orangemen managed to stay with the Spartans for most of the half despite Hill's four three-pointers in the first eight minutes. Sophomore #Craig Forth# and Warrick converted back-to-back three-point plays to give SU a three-point edge, 28-31, at the midway point of the first session. After Hill's fifth three tied the game at 31 with nine minutes left, the Orangemen broke open the game with an 11-2 run to take a 42-33 lead with 5:22 remaining on the clock. SU held on to take a five-point advantage, 44-39, at the intermission.
Syracuse returns to the friendly confines of the Carrier Dome to try for its 16th-straight home win on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The Orangemen will take on West Virginia at 7:00 p.m.
