Roberts' Buzzer-Beating Three in Overtime Sinks Rutgers, 86-84

Wednesday, February 1

Carrier Dome

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Rutgers

Roberts finished the game with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Roberts' Buzzer-Beating Three in Overtime Sinks Rutgers, 86-84

2/1/2006 9:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Junior forward Terrence Roberts hit a three-pointer from the top of the circle with three seconds remaining in overtime to lift Syracuse (16-6, 4-4) to an 86-84 victory against Rutgers (13-8, 3-5) at the Carrier Dome. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Orange. It was Roberts' second three pointer of the season and just the fifth of his career.

Rutgers came back from a 10-point, second-half deficit. The Scarlet Knights were led by junior guard Quincy Douby's career-high 41 points, a Carrier Dome record. The previous record was 40 points set by Syracuse's Gene Waldron against Iona on Dec. 4, 1983. Douby finished the game 15-of-32 from the field. He was 9-of-17 from three-point range. The nine 3's was a personal best.

Junior forward Demetris Nichols scored 17 points to help Syracuse to a 39-35 halftime lead. He was 7-of-10 from the floor and hit three shots from beyond the three-point arc during the first 20 minutes. Douby tallied 19 first-half points, including three 3's. The Scarlet Knights led by as many as five points, 32-27, with 4:12 remaining, but SU closed out the half with a 12-3 run to go ahead by four at intermission. Freshman guard Eric Devendorf had five of his 21 points during the spurt.

The Orange took its first 10-point lead, 49-39, at the 16:04 mark of the second half. It stayed on top by 10, 51-41, after sophomore guard Josh Wright hit two free throws with 14:18 remaining.

Rutgers made its move back into the game at the 7:45 mark when JR Inman nailed a three pointer which pulled the Scarlet Knights within one, 58-57. SU pushed it back to a five-point differential, 63-58, behind two foul shots by Devendorf at the 5:20 mark, but back-to-back 3's by Douby at 4:05 and 3:39 gave the Scarlet Knights their first lead (66-63) since 3:53 of the first half.

RU led 68-65 after a Jimmie Inglis left-handed follow-up basket, but Devendorf answered with a fadeaway baseline jumper to pull the 'Cuse within one, 68-67, with 1:33 left in regulation.

Wright, who saw a season-high 34 minutes of action, due in part to Syracuse losing senior guard Gerry McNamara to injury in the first half, came up with a huge play with 1:13 remaining. He pushed the ball quickly up the floor in transition, put a spin move on his defender and laid the ball in off the glass with his left hand. He was fouled and made the ensuing free throw to give SU a 70-68 advantage.

Douby got the shooter's roll on his eighth long ball of the night with 57 ticks left on the clock which put Rutgers ahead by one, 71-70.

SU junior center Darryl Watkins sank two free throws with 43.4 seconds left and Nichols made two more with 8.9 seconds remaining to give the Orange a 74-71 lead.

Douby brought the ball up the floor as Rutgers maneuvered for the last shot with less than 35 seconds remaining. Unable to get his own shot off, Douby found Marquis Webb in the right corner. Webb was able to get his feet set and stroked a 3 to tie the score at 74-74 with five seconds left in regulation.

In overtime, Douby hit two field goals, a high-arcing runner and a long three-ball to give the Scarlet Knights a 79-76 edge with 3:38 left to go in the extra session.

Devendorf, the BIG EAST Conference's preseason rookie of the year, came up with the next two baskets to put the Orange back on top, 80-79. RU's Frank Russell countered with a hook shot in the lane.

With 1:04 remaining, Wright made his second three pointer of the game to give Syracuse an 83-81 lead.

Rutgers called timeout with 39 seconds remaining and freshman guard Anthony Farmer stepped up with a three pointer to give the Scarlet Knights an 84-83 lead with nine seconds to go.

That set the stage for Roberts' game-winning shot. He showed no hesitation when Wright passed him the ball at the top of the key.

Nichols finished with a team-high 24 points and had nine rebounds. Roberts ended up with 16 points and nine rebounds. Wright chipped in with 14 points and five assists. As a team, the Orange made 25-of-35 shots from the free-throw line. SU outrebounded the Scarlet Knights by 12 (46-34).

Douby was one of four RU players in double figures. Inman had 14 points, while Webb added 11 and Farmer chipped in with 10.

SU returns to action next Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Connecticut.