Men's Basketball Wins Season Opener, 68-37

Tuesday, November 8

Carrier Dome

8:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Bethune-Cookman

Terrence Roberts had a team-high 15 points in the win.

11/8/2005 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Boxscore
SU Player Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 16-ranked Syracuse men's basketball team connected on its first three three-pointers of the game and never looked back in a 68-37 season-opening victory against Bethune-Cookman in the first round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic in front of 17,821 at the Carrier Dome. The Orange will play Cornell at 8 p.m. on Nov. 9, for the right to advance to the tournament's semifinals at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 17. The Big Red defeated St. Francis (Pa.), 75-54, in the first game of the night's doubleheader.

Junior forward Demetris Nichols tied a career high with three 3's in the first half and finished with 11 points, a career-high five assists and six rebounds. Classmate Terrence Roberts led the Orange with 15 points (6-of-7 from the floor), while sophomore guard Josh Wright recorded a personal-best 10 points (eight-of-10 on free throws).

The 37 points totaled by Bethune-Cookman marked the fewest number of points allowed by Syracuse since January 24, 1999, when the Orange defeated South Carolina, 84-37. The SU defense limited the Wildcats to 16 points in the opening stanza (on 7-of-30 shooting from the field), the fewest amount of points for an opponent in a first half since Princeton managed just 11 first-half points against Syracuse in 1999-2000. The Wildcats went nearly 11 minutes without a basket, while the Orange outscored them 11-0 to take a 25-10 lead by the 5:08 mark. For the game, Bethune-Cookman shot 26.8 percent from the field (15-for-56).

Wright had six points in the first half where he was six-of-seven from the foul line.

SU built a 19-point lead by halftime. Wright's two free throws with 38 seconds remaining gave the Orange a 33-14 lead. A layup by junior forward Matt Gorman with 19 ticks left gave the Orange a 35-16 edge at the break.

In the second half, the Wildcats got as close as 17 points (35-18) with the first basket of the period, a layup by Cleveland Williams, at the 19:46 mark, but the game remained in Syracuse's control. A layup by freshman guard Eric Devendorf at 15:05 gave the hosts a 44-20 advantage. Rookie forward Arinze Onuaku tallied his first collegiate basket with 9:37 remaining in the contest to give the Orange a 50-26 lead.

SU extended its margin to 29 points following a layup by Onuaku and two made free throws by Roberts with 2:07 remaining.

Antonio Webb was the high scorer for Bethune-Cookman with 15 points, while Mike Williams chipped in with 11 points and six boards.

The Wildcats will take on St. Francis (Pa.) tomorrow night in a consolation game at 6 p.m. Syracuse and Cornell will play in the nightcap at approximately 8 p.m. Both games will be televised by ESPNU.