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Syracuse University
vs. Oklahoma (NCAA East Regional Final)
Syracuse Advances To The Final Four!
3/30/2003 4:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Syracuse Coach and Player Quotes
ALBANY, N.Y. - Freshman #Carmelo Anthony# tallied 20 points and 10 rebounds and Syracuse's 2-3 zone stifled the Oklahoma attack as Syracuse earned a spot in the Final Four by beating the Sooners in the East Region final, 63-47.
Anthony (www.suathletics.com/carmelo), the Basketball Times, ESPN.com, Sporting News and USBWA Freshman of the Year, notched his team-leading 20th double-double. Sophomore #Hakim Warrick# finished with 13 points and nine caroms, freshmen #Billy Edelin# scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds, and freshman #Gerry McNamara# scored nine points and had five steals and three assists. Senior #Kueth Duany# finished with eight points, all in the first half.
As a team, Syracuse shot .521 (25-of-48) from the floor. At the other end, the SU defense limited the Sooners to .310 (18-of-58) shooting and forced 19 turnovers. The Orangemen outrebounded the Sooners, 40-28.
The Orangemen came out firing, hitting five of their first seven shots, to take an early 10-3 lead. The Sooners had five turnovers in the first five minutes, and 10 in the first 15 minutes, as SU opened up a 16-12 advantage 9:30 into the game. Oklahoma scored five straight points to take its only lead of the afternoon, 17-16 at the nine-minute mark. Anthony scored four straight points to start a 14-3 SU run that ended the first half and gave the Orange a 30-20 advantage at the intermission.
Syracuse returned from the lockerroom with an 8-0 tear to up its advantage to 18, 38-20, and Oklahoma never got within single digits of SU the rest of the contest. Edelin scored all nine of his points in the final 8:25, including 7-of-10 at the foul line. Freshman DeAngelo Alexander scored eight of the Sooners? final 19 points.
The Orangemen will meet Texas on Saturday, April 5 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Syracuse has never faced the Longhorns.
Head coach #Jim Boeheim# will take his third team in the Final Four as Syracuse?s mentor. The Orangemen reached the championship game both times, in 1987 and 1996. Boeheim has 36 NCAA Tournament wins under his belt.
