Syracuse University
Notre Dame
Warrick Scores 1,000th Point; SU Defeats Notre Dame, 81-70
1/17/2004 8:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Junior #Hakim Warrick# became Syracuse's 46th 1,000-point scorer with 19 points in the #17/19 Orangemen's (13-1, 3-0) 81-70 win against BIG EAST foe Notre Dame (8-5, 2-2) at the Joyce Center on Saturday.
Warrick was 9-of-20 from the floor in the contest and grabbed 10 rebounds. He also had two assists, two blocks and two steals. Warrick has 1,006 points in his career and trails Leo Rautins by 25 for 45th on SU's all-time scoring ledger. Rautins scored 1,031 points from 1980-83.
After Warrick opened the game with a basket, Notre Dame scored eight straight points, including back-to-back three-pointers, to take an 8-2 advantage with 17:56 left in the first half. The Orange responded with an 8-2 run to pull even,10-10, at 15:39. SU was held scoreless for the next 4:23 until a thunderous fast-break dunk by Warrick snapped the drought. The jam sparked a 13-0 Orangemen run that gave them a 23-15 edge at 8:07. Syracuse was 6-for-6 from the field during the stretch. The SU defense held the Irish without a point for 5:31 until a dunk by Notre Dame's Torin Francis at 6:42 stopped the run. SU built a 10-point margin, 28-18, on a two-pointer by junior #Josh Pace# at the 4:54 mark. Francis notched five-straight points for Notre Dame and Chris Thomas hit a jumper with two seconds left in the half to make the score 37-32 at the break.
A triple by Thomas got Notre Dame within two, 43-41, with 16:40 left in the contest. Sophomore #Gerry McNamara# answered with a three of his own on SU's ensuing possession, but Thomas connected from beyond the arc again, and a three-point play by Francis cut the Orange margin to one, 48-47. A bucket by Forth and a McNamara trey quickly extended the SU margin to six, 53-47 with 14 minutes to play. Sophomore #Billy Edelin# recorded nine of SU's next 11 points as the Orange pushed their advantage to nine with 8:23 left on the clock. The Orangemen used a 15-4 run to take their largest lead, 77-59, with 3:50 left. Six consecutive points by the Irish brought them within 12 with just over a minute to play in the contest, but Notre Dame could not overtake SU.
Edelin finished with 17 points, including 15 in the second half, and notched seven assists. McNamara also contributed 17 points and had five assists. Freshman #Louie McCroskey# tied his a career-high with eight points, all of which came in the first half and Pace notched 12 points for the Orange.
The win extended SU's season-winning streak to 13 games.
The Orangemen have won the last five meetings with the Fighting Irish and 10 of the last 11 pairings. Notre Dame's last triumph against SU came on Jan. 23, 2001, 74-60.
The Syracuse defense held Thomas, who entered the game averaging 22.7 points per outing in BIG EAST competition, to just 13 points. Torin Francis led the Irish with 17 markers and 10 rebounds. Tom Timmermans notched personal-best 16 points and eight boards for Notre Dame. SU outscored Notre Dame in the paint 46-26 and the Orangemen's bench added 10 points, while none of Notre Dame's reserves got in the scoring the column.
The win was the ninth consecutive regular-season conference victory for Syracuse dating back to Feb. 10, 2003. Its the longest winning streak against league foes for the Orangemen during the regular year since they won nine straight in 1999-00.
The Orangemen will travel to East Rutherford, NJ to battle former SU standout Louis Orr and the Seton Hall Pirates on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
