SU Clinches First-Round Bye With 67-56 Win Versus #7/8 Connecticut

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The #24/arv Syracuse men's basketball team (21-6, 11-5) clinched the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the BIG EAST Tournament with a 67-56 triumph against #7/8 Connecticut (24-6, 12-4) in front of 32,944 fans at the Carrier Dome on Sunday.

The Orangemen will play the winner of the Boston College-Georgetown matchup in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament on Thursday, March 11 at 2:00 p.m.

Sunday's crowd was the fifth largest in Carrier Dome history and the 58th 30,000-plus gathering since the building opened in 1980.

Sophomore Gerry McNamara led SU with 24 points. He was 7-of-19 from the field and was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. McNamara drilled four three-pointers in the contest, giving him 86 for the season, two behind Preston Shumpert's single-season record of 88. He also contributed six assists.

Junior Craig Forth tallied 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half and finished with a career-best 13 rebounds. Junior Hakim Warrick netted 19 points and added six boards.

SU used a 10-4 run at the start of the second half to break open a 32-32 score at the intermission. McNamara made two triples during the stretch as the Orange claimed a 42-36 advantage with 16:31 left to play and the Orangemen never trailed again. A jumper by Taliek Brown got the Huskies within two, 44-42, at 11:08, but SU responded with a basket by freshman Demetris Nichols. After two free throws by the Huskies' Denham Brown, Nichols connected on a three give the Orange a 49-44 edge. SU took a nine-point lead on a jumper by McNamara at 6:31. Connecticut's Ben Gordon made three with 2:38 remaining, but SU held the Huskies to just one field goal the rest of game.

Charlie Villanueva paced Connecticut with 13 points and Gordon finished with 11 points and six assists in 40 minutes of action. Rashad Anderson notched 10 points.

Connecticut was the fifth consecutive opponent the Orangemen have held to 60 points or fewer and the seventh time they have accomplished the feat this season. Syracuse is 7-0 in those games.

Syracuse outrebounded the Huskies 40-33 and the Orangemen held a 21-8 advantage in points off turnovers. They also outscored Connecticut 17-10 on second-chance opportunities.

The Orangemen jumped out to an early 12-6 margin with 15:12 left in the first frame. The Huskies got nine straight points from Villanueva to get within one, 16-15, and took their first lead of the game on a basket by Rashad Anderson at 10:29. Connecticut extended its edge to seven on layup by Taliek Brown, but SU went on a 12-3 run over the next 4:47 to take a 28-26 lead. The Huskies got back-to-back treys by Gordon and Anderson before a bucket by Forth tied the game at halftime.

Coupled with last Sunday's triumph at #3/3 Pittsburgh, the win against Connecticut win marked the first time since 1993-94 that SU defeated two top-10 teams in consecutive attempts during the regular season (Connecticut and Kentucky). The Orange won three straight games versus top-10 opponents in the NCAA Tournament last year (Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas).

The entire BIG EAST Conference Tourament will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN2.