Seton Hall Hands SU its Fourth-Straight Loss, 68-61

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Junior guard Jamar Nutter scored a game-high 19 points, including five second-half three pointers to help Seton Hall (12-6, 3-3 BIG EAST) to a 68-61 victory against #25/24 Syracuse (15-6, 3-4 BIG EAST) at the Carrier Dome. It was the third-straight win for the Pirates and their second consecutive upset of a Top 25 team. For the Orange, it marked its fourth-straight loss, just the third time in Coach Boeheim's 30-year tenure that a losing skid has lasted four games.

Seton Hall led by as many as nine points in the first half, 14-5, but by halftime, Syracuse came back to take a 32-28 lead. The Orange defense used blocked shots and steals to take its first lead of the game, 24-22, with 7:31 remaining in the first half. SU recorded 10 of its 15 steals during the first 20 minutes.

Senior guard Gerry McNamara led SU with 10 points and four steals in the first half. Seton Hall's Donald Copeland had 10 of his 18 points in the first stanza.

The Pirates caught fire from long range in the second half, led by Nutter's three 3-point bombs within the first two minutes. Seton Hall ended up making 7-of-12 three-point field goals in the second half and outscored Syracuse by a total of 40-29. Nutter's third 3 at the 17:58 mark gave the Pirates a 39-36 advantage.

Seton Hall led by as many as six points, 47-41, after a Kelly Whitney three-point play, set up by Copeland. The Pirates took another six-point lead, 54-48, when Nutter nailed his fourth three-pointer with 8:18 remaining.

SU forward Demetris Nichols found teammate Terrence Roberts for an eventual three-point play which brought the Orange back within three, 54-51. After a Grant Billmeier foul shot, SU center Darryl Watkins made one-out-of-two from the line to keep Syracuse within 55-52 with 6:11 left.

McNamara tied the score at 55-55 with his third 3 of the afternoon with 5:01 remaining. The shot moved him into sixth place ahead of Notre Dame's Matt Carroll on the BIG EAST Conference's all-time 3-point field goals list.

SU tied it two more times before the final buzzer, but could never claim a lead.

Roberts tied the score at 57 with a follow-up dunk and McNamara made two free throws with 2:16 remaining to tie the score at 59-59.

That's when Seton Hall threw two daggers in the form of back-to-back three's by Nutter and Copeland. Copeland's fourth three-point field goal of the night gave the Pirates a 65-59 advantage with 1:11 on the clock.

Nichols canned a pullup jumper to pull Syracuse within four, 65-61, with 47 seconds remaining. That was the game's final field goal. Copeland and Whitney hit free throws in the final 11 seconds to seal the win.

Copeland finished with eight assists. Whitney had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Billmeier ended up with nine points and nine rebounds.

For Syracuse, McNamara was the leading scorer with 15 points. He surpassed Dave Bing on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,893 career points. He also had five steals to move into second place on the Orange all-time steals list (237) ahead of Sherman Douglas.

Roberts finished with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Nichols had 12 points and six boards.

The Orange returns to action Wednesday night, Feb. 1 at home against Rutgers. Game time is 7 p.m.