Orange Overcomes Early Deficit to Beat Northeastern, 81-58

Wednesday, November 15

Carrier Dome

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Northeastern

Paul Harris recorded his second double-double with career-highs in points and rebounds

Orange Overcomes Early Deficit to Beat Northeastern, 81-58

11/15/2006 9:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Coach Boeheim Quotes

SU Player Quotes

Syracuse, N.Y- The #18/20 Orange (4-0) overcame a 15-point first half deficit to beat Northeastern, 81-58, at the Carrier Dome on Wednesday, November 15. Each team had a double-digit lead throughout the contest and combined for 19 three-pointers. Syracuse continued its offensive onslaught as it scored more than 80 points for the third time this year. The win was the 730th of head coach Jim Boeheim's career, tying him with Jerry Tarkanian for 15th on the all-time wins list.

Freshman forward Paul Harris recorded his second double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, both career-highs. Sophomore guard Eric Devendorf led the Orange with 19 points and a career-best eight assists. Senior forward Terrence Roberts turned in his third double-digit rebounding performance of the season as he pulled down a game-high 13 boards. Sophomore forward Andy Rautins posted career-bests with 13 points, four three-pointers and four assists.

Junior guard Josh Wright got the Orange started early with a three-pointer on its first possession. Northeastern hit two quick baskets to gain a one-point advantage, but senior forward Demetris Nichols put SU back on top when Roberts found him underneath for a dunk. The Huskies came back with a 16-0 run that included seven points by guard Adrian Martinez. Northeastern made eight of its first nine shots and dished out seven assists as it built a 14-point lead in the first five minutes, 19-5.

Harris and Rautins led the Orange on an 11-5 run to get back in the game. Harris scored six points and Rautins had the other five, including SU's second three-pointer of the night, and 10 minutes into the game, Northeastern's lead was cut to single-digits, 24-16. SU hit the glass hard, pulling down three defensive rebounds that led to six fastbreak points.

The Huskies scored five points to push its lead back to double-digits, but Syracuse used the long ball to complete its comeback. Rautins, Devendorf and Nichols each hit threes during an 11-point spurt by the Orange and with six minutes left in the half the game was tied for the first time, 27-27.

A goaltending call on Nichols and a layup by forward Eugene Spates put Northeastern back on top, 31-27. After a timeout, Devendorf drained another three, but Davis made a layup under the basket to maintain the Huskies' three-point advantage. Roberts brought the Orange crowd to its feet when he caught an offensive rebound with one hand and threw down a full extension dunk. Rautins then forced a turnover at midcourt and Harris took the ball down for a slam dunk to give Syracuse its first lead since the first minute of the game, 34-33.

Syracuse scored seven points in the final 1:37, including a dunk by freshman forward Mike Jones off a pass from Rautins at the buzzer, to take its largest lead of the game to that point, 41-33. The Orange made seven threes in the first half, six of which came during a 34-11 run in the final 13 minutes. Devendorf led the Orange with 13 points and surpassed his career-high with seven assists in the first half.

Wright again hit a three to begin the second half to push the Orange lead to 11 points. Northeastern hit three-straight triples to cut the Orange lead to four points at the 16-minute mark, 46-42. A free throw by Davis brought the Huskies within three, but that is the closest they would get in the half.

Syracuse held its four-point edge at 15:12 when Devendorf canned another three. Guard Matt Janning came back with a triple for Northeastern, his third of the game. Rautins answered for SU with a three of his own and two free throws in a span of 25 seconds. Harris pulled down a rebound off a long missed three by the Huskies and led the fastbreak for the Orange. He threw a long bounce pass between two defenders to a streaking Nichols, who made a layup as he was fouled, converted the free throw, and the Orange led, 58-46, with 12:30 left in the game.

Syracuse's lead never dipped lower than 10 points and was as big as 27 points as the Orange closed out the game with a 23-12 run. Harris electrified the 19,007 fans in attendance when he came up with a steal, blew down the left side of the court and threw down a one-handed dunk over a Northeastern defender. Jones had another dunk when senior forward Matt Gorman came up with a steal and threw an outlet pass over the freshman's head for an uncontested finish.

Janning led the Huskies with 16 points in his collegiate debut. Davis added 12 points and a team-high five rebounds. Martinez and guard Bobby Kelly each had six of Northeastern's 19 assists.

The Orange hosts Charlotte Wednesday, November 22, at 7:00 p.m.