Men's Basketball Beats Manhattan in Overtime, 87-82

Wednesday, November 30

Carrier Dome

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Manhattan

Sophomore guard Josh Wright scored a career-high 19 points and had eight assists in the OT victory against the Jaspers.

Men's Basketball Beats Manhattan in Overtime, 87-82

11/30/2005 9:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SU Player Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse men's basketball team came back from an 11-point deficit and outscored Manhattan 26-10 during the game's final eight minutes, which included five minutes of overtime, in an 87-82 victory in front of 19,193 at the Carrier Dome. Senior guard Gerry McNamara scored 10 points (two three's) during the comeback and finished with a season-high 25 points, while freshman guard Eric Devendorf nailed a deep three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to tie the game at 79-79 and force overtime. Half of the Orange's field goals on the night were of the three-point variety (12-of-24).

Manhattan (0-3) made an impressive comeback of its own and looked to have the game in hand down the stretch. The Jaspers outscored Syracuse, 61-41, in the second half to turn a 24-point, first-half deficit (36-12) into a 72-61 lead by the 2:21 mark of the second half. It was the Jaspers' largest lead of the night. Senior forward Mike Konovelchick scored 19 of his team-high 21 points in the second half for Manhattan. He added a pull-up jumper in overtime to give Manhattan an 81-79 lead with 3:30 remaining in the contest. The Jaspers' other starting forward, sophomore CJ Anderson, was also key during the second-half surge. He netted 15 second-half points and finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds (seven offensive boards).

Syracuse (5-2) distanced itself from the Jaspers in the first half with a 33-7 run which turned an early two-point deficit into a 24-point lead (36-12) with 3:41 remaining. SU hit five three-point shots in the opening half, including a season-high two by freshman guard Andy Rautins. Manhattan, who did not register its first basket until 4:29 into the contest, brought the margin down to 20 points following a free throw by Guy Ngarndi, a three pointer by Jeff Xavier and a shot in the lane by Anderson during the half's final four minutes. The Jaspers trailed, 38-18, at the break.

Manhattan emerged from the lockerroom on a mission to chip away at the Orange lead. Konovelchick sank the first of his team-high four three-pointers just 32 seconds into the half. By the first media timeout, the Jaspers were enjoying a 14-6 run. They extended that run to 21-8 following a three-point basket from the right wing by Xavier which cut the Syracuse advantage to seven points (46-39) with 14:59 remaining in the second period.

SU forward Demetris Nichols canned a long ball to give the Orange a 52-41 edge with 13:11 on the clock. Konovelchick was fouled by McNamara on a three-point attempt and made all three foul shots to pull Manhattan back under 10 (52-44) at the 12:53 mark.

Xavier drained his third three of the night to pull his team to within five points and Jason Wingate sank two free throws to make the score 52-49 with 10:43 left. Manhattan finally took the lead, 57-56, on a three-pointer by Kenny Minor with 7:55 remaining.

Sophomore guard Josh Wright, who finished with a career-high 19 points, gave the lead back to Syracuse just 33 seconds later with two of his nine made free throws on the night. During the next five minutes, the Jaspers went on a 15-3 run which put them ahead by 11. Konovelchick made two three-point shots during that stretch, while Anderson and Arturo Dubois added four points apiece.

Missed free throws prevented Manhattan from putting the game away. The Jaspers were just 3-of-10 from the charity stripe during the final 1:44 of regulation. Meanwhile, the Orange took advantage of the stopped clock. Wright hit a three to pull SU to within seven points (75-68) with 1:37 remaining. Junior center Darryl Watkins followed up a missed layup by Wright with a resounding dunk to make it 77-70 with 53 seconds remaining. McNamara did most of the remaining damage with two three pointers. On his second, he used a screen from Terrence Roberts to get open at the top of the three-point line. SU trailed by one, 77-76, with 24 seconds left. Wingate was sent to the free-throw line by Devendorf and made both shots to give Manhattan a 79-76 lead with 23 seconds on the clock. But, Devendorf showed no hesitation on the game-tying bucket (79-79) which he made from about 21 feet out on the left wing with 16 seconds remaining.

In overtime, SU outscored the Jaspers, 8-3. After Konovelchick's pull-up jumper, which gave his squad an 81-79 advantage, Wright came down to tie the contest at 81-81 with a floater in the lane.

With 2:11 remaining, Minor made just one of two free throws to give Manhattan its final lead of the night, 82-81.

The Orange took back the game with an offensive putback by Roberts. Wright was intentionally fouled with 12 seconds left and made both free throws. The Orange got the ball back and McNamara sealed the deal with two made foul shots with 11 seconds on the clock.

Syracuse returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 3, at home against Texas Christian, at 7 p.m.