SU Returns Home to Battle Scarlet Knights
2/9/2004 5:23:34 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The arv/#25 Orangemen (14-5, 4-4) return to the Dome after two straight road losses to ranked opponents when they take on Rutgers (13-7, 5-5) on Tuesday, Feb.10 at 7:00 p.m. Dale Jarrett's #88 UPS car will be in the backcourt during the contest. Fans can pay $1.00 to get their picture taken with the car. Proceeds will go to Coaches vs. Cancer. Tonight's halftime entertainment features ball-handling wizard Ilse Luneau.
Syracuse freshman Demetris Nichols led SU with a career-high 17 points and added 7 rebounds in its most recent outing, a 74-61 loss at #23/23 Providence on Feb. 7. Junior Wooden Award semi-finalist Hakim Warrick recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Friars. He is currently ranked third in the BIG EAST in scoring (19.3) and fifth in rebounding (8.7).
Sophomore Billy Edelin returned to the court after sitting out the Virginia Tech and Connecticut contests. He finished with five points and two assists in 23 minutes off the bench.
Rutgers is coming off an 85-58 loss to Seton Hall after winning their previous four BIG EAST games. Junior Ricky Shields leads the Scarlet Knights in scoring with 14.8 points and is second in the conference to SU’s Gerry McNamara in three-point field goals made (55). Freshman Quincy Douby is also scoring in double-digits for Rutgers, averaging 11.5 points per game.
Scarlet Knight’s senior Herve Lamizana is seventh in the BIG EAST in rebounds per game (8.1) and fourth in blocked shots per game (2.75).
Against SU last season, Lamizana made the game-winning basket when he banked in three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to give Rutgers a 68-65 triumph at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on Jan. 29.
The second pairing between the two team’s last season in Syracuse drew an NCAA on-campus record crowd of 33,071 fans to watch former Orangeman and current NBA star, Carmelo Anthony play his last game at the Carrier Dome. Anthony led the Orangemen to an 83-74 comeback win, tying his career high with 30 points and 14 rebounds.
Syracuse leads the all-time series, 27-9, and has lost to Rutgers only once in 18 meetings at the Carrier Dome.
Tuesday’s matchup will be televised live on Time Warner Channel 26 in the Syracuse and Albany areas. The contest will also be carried by Adelphia Cable Systems in Syracuse Utica and Albany. John Sanders and Bob Wenzel will call the action.
Fans can also listen to the game on the SU Radio Network with the “Voice of the Orange” Mark Johnson and Matt Park. The pre-game show will begin 60 minutes prior to tip off on 1260 AM with the rest of the network joining the broadcast 30 minutes before game time. Fans can also hear the contest live via the Internet at www.suathletics.com
Tickets for Tuesday’s game are available at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B), by telephone (1-888-DOMETIX) or on the Internet at www.dometix.com
