This Day in Dome History: February 13

Syracuse recorded its 20th win of the 1999-2000 season on this date by besting UCLA, 71-67. The largest on-campus crowd in the nation that year (29,731) watched the Orange put an end to a two-game losing streak. SU led by three at the half and held off the Bruins’ comeback attempt in the final 20 minutes.

Jason Hart led the Orange attack with 18 points, 14 in the first half, on 8-for-12 shooting and also added seven assists. Preston Shumpert contributed 18 points off the bench, and Damone Brown reached double-figures with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

UCLA took a two-point lead, 27-25, with 5:54 left in the first half on a dunk by Ray Young, but five points from Shumpert (a three-pointer and two free-throws) followed by 10 points from Hart (two three-pointers and two jump shots) ensured Syracuse the halftime lead, 40-37. UCLA had a one-point lead, 44-43, three minutes into the second half and tied the game on five different occasions after that point, but a three-pointer by DeShaun Williams with 7:50 remaining in the game gave Syracuse a lead, 61-58, that it would never relinquish. With the Orange leading by two with 10 seconds left in the game, Ryan Blackwell was fouled on an inbounds play and made his first free throw to put SU up 70-67. Etan Thomas was then fouled when he grabbed the rebound of Blackwell’s second shot. Thomas made his first free throw to give Syracuse the 71-67 advantage and Hart stole the ball from UCLA’s Earl Watson on the Bruins’ breakout attempt following Thomas’ second shot to secure the win.

In 2001 Jeremy McNeil denied five Miami baskets, but it was not enough as SU lost to the Hurricanes, 68-57. Both teams had four players in double figures in scoring, including Preston Shumpert (11), Damone Brown (18), Allen Griffin (11) and DeShaun Williams (10) for Syracuse, but Miami benefited from strong bench play.

The men’s and women’s lacrosse teams both scrimmaged on this date in 1999. An early-season crowd of 1,473 fans came to get an early look at how the season was developing.

In addition to athletic events, the Carrier Dome was busy two other years on this date. In 1982, country legend Waylon Jennings performed a concert of his greatest hits, while in 1990 the Orange faithful gathered for the AT&T Classic Champion dinner.

More than 23.5 million people have passed through the revolving doors of the Carrier Dome since the building’s first public event on September 20, 1980. Throughout the 2005-06 SU athletics seasons the University will celebrate the first 25 years of the Loud House.

In the first 25 years of the Dome, more than 1,740 events were staged, including collegiate, professional and high school athletics events, University commencement, concerts, a circus, and community events. These activities are chronicled in the more than 100 photographs that are currently in the concourse of the Dome. Fans who attend events in the Dome can re-live the memories with these photos.

Syracuse University Athletics

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