Men's Basketball Wins BIG EAST Opener Against USF, 63-57

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Orange (13-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) held off a late rally by South Florida (6-9, 0-2 BIG EAST) to win its first conference game of the season, 63-57, at the Carrier Dome. It was the 10th-straight win for SU and the fourth-consecutive loss for the Bulls.

Senior guard Gerry McNamara led four different Syracuse players in double-figure scoring with 12 points. He also had four steals and three assists to move into fifth place on the school's career assists chart (540 assists) ahead of Eddie Moss, who recorded 539 assists at SU from 1977-81.

Junior forward Terrence Roberts had 11 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Classmate Louie McCroskey came off the bench to tally 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. The nine rebounds and four assists tied his career-highs. Meanwhile, freshman guard Andy Rautins came in off the bench to score a career-high 10 points. He was three-of-five from beyond the three-point arc.

The Orange trailed the Bulls, 11-8, during the contest's first eight minutes. Senior guard James Holmes registered seven of his game-high 23 points to help the Bulls to the three-point lead, their largest of the afternoon.

A timeout at the 11:21 mark allowed Syracuse to regroup and the Orange took control of the contest with a 20-2 run to go ahead, 28-13, with 3:48 remaining in the first half. McCroskey played an integral role at this point by getting to the free-throw line, hitting the offensive glass, sinking a baseline jumper and dishing out two assists to junior Demetris Nichols. Nichols and McNamara each scored six points during the run. McNamara connected on two three-pointers, while Nichols finished off three fast breaks and penetrated to find Rautins for three, which gave the Orange its largest lead of the half (15 points).

USF managed to bring the difference back under 10 points when Melvyn Richardson hit a layup with 1:46 remaining to make it 29-20, but Roberts sank two free throws with one minute left on the clock to give SU a 31-20 halftime lead.

In the second stanza, Holmes helped USF close to within nine points (43-34) after SU had pushed it back up to a 15-point differential. He had a three-pointer and got to the free throw line with 11:34 remaining. Meanwhile, Solomon Jones hit a jumper and McHugh Mattis slammed down a back-door alley-oop from Chris Capko to keep the Bulls hanging around.

The Orange built an 18-point lead (57-39), its largest of the game, with 6:46 remaining thanks to two three-pointers by Rautins and four points by freshman center Arinze Onuaku.

South Florida never gave up. It whittled down Syracuse's 18-point lead to a six-point deficit (61-55) with less than a minute left to play. Holmes hit his fifth three-pointer of the day with 39 seconds remaining. A successful drive by Melvin Buckley pulled USF to within five points (62-57) with 11 seconds left.

Nichols made the front end of a two-shot free throw to seal the final in Syracuse's favor, 63-57.

Despite fouling out and not scoring a basket, SU junior center Darryl Watkins pulled down 10 rebounds, one shy of his season high.

The Orange now prepares for two conference road games, starting with a trip to Notre Dame on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. On Saturday, Jan. 14, SU will be at Cincinnati for an 8 p.m. tip-off on ESPN Regional Television.