Syracuse Survives Late Maryland Comeback; Advances to the Sweet 16

Box Score
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse Player Quotes

DENVER, Colo. -- Fifth-seeded Syracuse (23-7) withstood a furious rally by No. 4 seed Maryland (20-12) to advance to the Sweet 16 with a,72-70, triumph against the Terrapins in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Pepsi Center on Saturday. Syracuse will play Alabama in one Phoenix Region semifinal on Thursday, March 25.

Maryland whittled what was a 54-38 Syracuse lead at the 13-minute mark to 10 on three by D.J. Strawberry at 7:31. After a basket by Syracuse junior #Craig Forth#, the Terrapins used a 5-0 scoring outburst to get within seven, 61-54, with 5:12 left. A bucket by junior #Josh Pace# increased the SU lead to nine, 69-60, with less than two minutes on the clock. Back-to-back field goals by the Terrapins' Travis Garrison and John Gilchrist got them within five, 69-64, with 50 seconds remaining. After two free throws by sophomore #Gerry McNamara# and another hoop by Garrison, Forth missed two free throws to keep hope alive for Maryland. On the ensuing possession, Pace fouled Maryland's Mike Jones on three-point attempt. Jones made the first two free throws to cut the margin to 71-68, but missed the third. Nik Caner-Medley grabbed the rebound for Maryland and D.J. Strawberry netted a two-pointer to make the score 71-70. The Terrapins immediately fouled McNamara with seven seconds left to stop the clock. McNamara made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, to give SU a 72-70 margin. Maryland had one final chance tie or win the game, but two shots by Strawberry were off the mark.

Junior #Hakim Warrick# led the Orangemen with 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He also connected on 10-of-15 free throws and contributed nine rebounds. Forth notched the second double-double of his career in the contest with 10 points and 12 rebounds, both NCAA career bests for the East Greenbush, NY native. McNamara, who set an SU NCAA Tournament record with 43 points in the Orange's first-round win against BYU, finished with 13 points and six assists. Pace and freshman #Demetris Nichols# each added nine points to the cause.

The win was the 676th career victory for Syracuse head coach #Jim Boeheim#. He now owns sole possession of 18th place on the all-time Division I coaches wins list, passing former Louisville head coach Denny Crum. Boeheim is now 40-21 in NCAA Tournament pairings. His 40 wins ranks seventh on the all-time tournament wins ledger. He is two triumphs away from tying Lute Olson of Arizona and Crum for fifth-place on that list.

Warrick and Forth combined for SU's first 14 points of the game to give the Orange a 14-10 lead with 10:16 left in the first half. McNamara and freshman #Terrence Roberts# each added a pair of free throws to increase the Syracuse advantage to 18-10 at 8:55. Syracuse's zone defense held the Terrapins without a field goal for 9:24 until a layup by John Gilchrist cut the SU lead to 18-14 with 5:52 left in the opening period. A three-point play by Maryland's Jamar Smith got the Terrapins within two, 21-19, at the 1:57 mark, but the Orangemen responded with a 9-0 run to extend their margin to 30-19. A dunk by Warrick gave SU a 32-22 edge at the break.

Syracuse got three's from Nichols and McNamara to start the second half and held a 39-30 advantage at 17:47. The Orangemen then went on 15-8 run to increase its lead to 16 before the Terrapins began their comeback.

Garrison and Jamar Smith paced Maryland with 16 points each and Chris McCray added 10 for the Terrapins.

The Orangemen forced 17 Maryland turnovers in the game and held the Terrapins to 25.9 percent shooting in the first period.

It was SU's first-ever win against the Terrapins and the Orangemen are now 1-5 all-time against Maryland, including a 1-1 record in NCAA Tournament pairings.

Syracuse will be making its 14 appearance in the Sweet 16 since 1975 when they battle Alabama on Thursday. The Orangemen and Tide have squared off twice previously with SU winning both contests.