Syracuse University
Seton Hall
1/20/2004 10:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The #13/16 Syracuse men's basketball team (13-2, 3-1) lost to Seton Hall (12-4, 2-2), 74-67, on Tuesday night at the Continental Airlines Arena. The loss snapped the Orangemen's 13-game unbeaten streak.
Syracuse hadn't suffered a defeat since it opened the season with a loss to Charlotte at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 26. The loss to the Pirates also broke the Orangemen's nine-game regular-season conference winning streak. SU had not lost to a BIG EAST opponent during the regular season since a 75-61 defeat at the hands of Connecticut on Feb. 10, 2003.
Junior #Hakim Warrick# recorded his fourth double-double in the last five outings with a game-high 26 points and game-best 13 rebounds. He was 10-of-19 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line against Seton Hall. Warrick played all 40 minutes for SU, the third straight contest he has been on the floor the entire game. Warrick passed Leo Rautins for 45th on SU's all-time scoring list with the performance and now has 1,032 points in his career.
Sophomore #Billy Edelin# notched 16 points in 39 minutes of action. He also had six boards and five assists. Junior #Josh Pace# grabbed seven rebounds and contributed nine points. It is the eighth straight game Pace has pulled down at least six rebounds.
Seton Hall connected on its first three shots of the game as it gained an early 7-0 lead. The Pirates built a 12-0 margin before a jumper by sophomore #Gerry McNamara# at the 16-minute mark got the Orangemen on the scoreboard. SU scored the next six points to pull within four, 12-8, at the 13:20 mark of the first half. A basket by Kelly Whitney and a three by Andre Barrett had the Pirates back in front by nine, 17-8. A three-point play by John Allen pushed the Pirates margin back to 12, 24-12, with 5:52 to go in the first half. Warrick netted eight of SU's next 10 points, but SU still trailed 32-22 and Seton Hall took a 35-25 edge into the locker room.
Syracuse fought back in the second half, opening the second session with six consecutive points to cut the Pirates' advantage to four, 35-31. Back-to-back baskets by Whitney had Seton Hall ahead 43-33 with 15:38 remaining in the game. An alley-oop from Andre Barrett to J.R. Morris extended the Seton Hall edge to 12 at the 11:38 mark. A free-throw by Andre Sweet gave the Pirates their largest lead, 56-43, with 8:30 to go. Two and a half minutes later, Warrick followed a miss by freshman #Darryl Watkins# and was fouled. He converted the three-point play to cut the lead to 58-50 at 5:54, but the Pirates answered on a bucket by Barrett. The Orangemen played pressure defense the rest of the way, but the Pirates were able to beat SU's press and get into the frontcourt and work the clock on their ensuing possessions. A three-pointer by freshman #Demetris Nichols# pulled the Orange within seven, 69-62, with just over a minute remaining, but Seton Hall made 5-of-6 free throws in the last minute to preserve the win.
Whitney paced Seton Hall with 21 points and eight rebounds. Three other Pirates joined him in double figures. Barrett and Allen tallied 16 points each and J.R. Morris chipped in 10 off the bench.
Seton Hall's defense limited SU to 43 percent shooting (27-63) and forced 14 Orange turnovers. Syracuse held a 39-28 edge in the rebound column. It marked the first time this season SU lost when outrebounding an opponent.
The Orangemen will return home for a showdown with #8/9 Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 8:00 p.m.
