Syracuse Loses to Oklahoma State in the Jimmy V Classic at MSG

Tuesday, December 5

Madison Square Garden

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Oklahoma State

Demetris Nichols scored 26 points against Oklahoma State, two shy of his career-high

Syracuse Loses to Oklahoma State in the Jimmy V Classic at MSG

12/5/2006 9:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NEW YORK, N.Y- The #21/21 Syracuse Orange (7-2) lost its second-straight game to a ranked opponent Tuesday night at the hands of the #22/24 Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-0), 72-68, at the Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden.

Demetris Nichols turned in his fourth 20-point performance in five games, leading the Orange with 26 points, two shy of his career-high. Terrence Roberts scored 14 points for the second-consecutive game, on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, and had a team-high seven rebounds. Paul Harris scored all of his 11 points in the second quarter, with nine coming in the final 3:45. He also had a game-high four steals. Josh Wright had six assists for the Orange. Eric Devendorf was once again hindered by sickness, limited to just nine minutes in the game.

Forward Mario Boggan and guard JamesOn Curry combined for 41 points for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys held a 33-23 rebounding advantage and the two teams totaled 45 turnovers in the game. Syracuse had just six in the first half, but committed 17 turnovers in the second half.

Boggan scored the first nine points for the Cowboys and had four rebounds as they built a 9-6 lead in the first four minutes. Harris came up with a steal at midcourt and threw a long pass to Roberts for a layup that started an 8-0 run for Syracuse, highlighted by an alley oop pass from Wright to Darryl Watkins for a dunk, as the Orange led 14-9 at the 12 minute mark.

The Cowboys answered with an 8-0 run of their own over the next two minutes to go up with 10 minutes left in the half, 19-14. Syracuse got immediate contributions from the bench as Matt Gorman made a jumper and Mike Jones tipped in a missed shot and Syracuse was back within a point of Oklahoma State, 19-18.

After the Orange forced the Cowboys to take a shot as the shot clock ticked down, Syracuse came back in transition and Nichols made a tough jumper from just inside the three-point line with a hand in his face to take back the lead. The two teams traded baskets as the lead changed hands five times over the next two minutes. Down by four, Nichols another long jumper off a pass from Eric Devendorf, only to have forward Marcus Dove complete a three-point play on the ensuing Oklahoma State possession.

Nichols made a pair of free throws with just over a minute left, giving him a team-high 11 points in the first half and pulling the Orange within three. Oklahoma State guard Terrell Harris broke down the lane and slammed home a missed three at the end of the half and Oklahoma State led by five, 39-34.

Both teams stayed hot in the second half, running up and down the court to combine for 16 points in the first four minutes. Syracuse had four different players score, including four points from Watkins. Syracuse was down by three when Wright came up with a steal and led a three-on-one fastbreak. He threw a lob pass to Roberts who threw down a two-handed slam and Syracuse trailed by one, 47-46, at 14:39.

The Cowboys went on a quick five point spurt to take its largest lead of the game up to that point, 52-46. The score stayed the same over the next three minutes as neither team could find a rhythm on offense. Oklahoma State forced a turnover and got an easy fastbreak dunk, followed by a layup off an offensive rebound to extend its lead to double-digits for the first time in the game, 56-46.

Nichols snapped the Syracuse drought with a three-point play and then canned a three-pointer from the right wing to cut the Cowboys' lead down to six, 58-52, with 6:22 left. Roberts grabbed a rebound off a missed three by Nichols, fought his way inside and put home a layup to bring the Orange within four points.

Oklahoma State forced two turnovers and hit the glass hard as it went on an 11-0 run, highlighted by two fastbreak dunks by Dove, to go up, 67-54, with 4:05 left in the game. Harris and Nichols brought Syracuse back into the game as each hit a pair of free throws. Harris then threw down a fastbreak dunk and Nichols hit a three-pointer to complete a 9-0 run and bring the Orange within four, 67-63.

Harris made another free throw and Syracuse trailed by three with just over a minute remaining. Oklahoma State slowed down the pace on its next possession, but guard JamesOn Curry missed a leaning jump shot. Harris corralled the long rebound and took the ball the length of the court for a layup, cutting the lead to one point with 45 seconds to go. Curry answered with a long three-pointer to push the Cowboys' edge back to four points. After a turnover by Syracuse and a missed free throw by Curry, Harris again took the ball down the court by himself and was fouled. He made both free throws, but Curry hit two free throws of his own to provide the final margin.

Syracuse hosts Colgate on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the 159th meeting between the two schools.