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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Rashad Anderson scored 21 points and Josh Boone added 18 as #3/3 Connecticut (15-1, 3-1 BIG EAST) defeated #20/20 Syracuse (15-3, 3-1), 88-80, at the Carrier Dome. The loss snapped a 12-game winning streak for the Orange. The game was played in front of 26,805 - the largest on-campus crowd for a college basketball game this season.
The Huskies jumped out to a 12-0 lead, thanks in part to five points from Rudy Gay and four from Boone. At the time, it represented the largest deficit SU had faced in 2005-06. Syracuse got as close as four points (21-17) in the first half after senior forward Matt Gorman sank his second career three-pointer off a feed from Gerry McNamara with 8:45 remaining. UConn responded with a 24-4 run to take a 24-point advantage (45-21), its largest of the night. Anderson rattled off 15 points during the spurt, including four field goals from beyond the three-point arc. The Huskies led, 45-25, at halftime. The Huskies had already accumulated 11 blocked shots.
Following the intermission, Connecticut extended its advantage to 24 points two more times, the last at 50-26 with 17:10 remaining. A layup by Marcus Williams with 7:56 left had Connecticut ahead, 69-50.
The Orange used threes by Eric Devendorf, Demetris Nichols and McNamara, plus two free throws by Nichols to cut the gap to 11, 72-61, with 4:04 on the clock. The Huskies pushed the margin back to 15 when SU mounted one final charge. SU outscored Connecticut 12-3 over a 58-second span to pull to 82-76 but never managed to get closer. Williams made six straight free throws in the final 23 seconds to secure the triumph. Devendorf tallied nine points in the last 1:27, but it was not enough.
Junior guard Louie McCroskey provided a spark for the Orange off the bench with his first career double-double (11 points, a career-high 14 rebounds, four steals). Nichols finished with a career-high 28, including 25 in the second half. Devendorf ended up with 17 points, while McNamara had 14 points and four assists. McNamara's one steal put him in a third-place tie on the school's career ledger, equaling Eddie Moss with 230.
McNamara moved into 10th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,856 points, passing Erich Santifer who tallied 1,845 points from 1979-83.
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun left the game with less than four minutes remaining because of a sinus infection that flared up due to dehydration.
Syracuse faces another top-ranked team when it travels to play #7/7 Villanova in its next game on Jan. 21, at 6:00 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN.
