Orange Tops #14/15 Mountaineers, 60-58

Monday, February 20

Carrier Dome

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

#14/15 West Virginia

Freshman guard Eric Devendorf scored 17 points in the victory against West Virginia.

2/20/2006 9:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score
SU Player Quotes
Jim Boeheim Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Junior forward Terrence Roberts scored 16 points, including the game-winning basket with 2:28 remaining to help Syracuse to a 60-58 victory against #14/15 West Virginia at the Carrier Dome. It was the Orange's second consecutive victory and its eighth-straight win in the series with the Mountaineers.

Coach Jim Boeheim's team improved its record to 19-8, 7-6 in the BIG EAST Conference. West Virginia is 18-8, 9-4 in the league.

Roberts, who grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, was particularly active in the second half, canning all five of his shot attempts for 10 points. He finished the contest eight-of-nine from the field.

Freshman guard Eric Devendorf also stepped it up for the Orange in the second half. He tallied 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second stanza and finished 7-of-13 from the floor with three 3's.

SU got off to a 9-2 lead as West Virginia missed its first seven shots, five of which were 3-point attempts. Patrick Beilein came off the bench and stroked five shots from beyond the arc to pull the Mountaineers with two, 16-14, with 8:08 remaining in the first half.

Senior Matt Gorman gave the Orange a 27-19 advantage with two made free throws, but West Virginia closed out the final 2:09 on a 10-2 run to claim a 30-29 edge at the break. It was the Mountaineers' first lead of the game. West Virginia attempted 21 three-pointers in the first half and connected on eight.

In the second half, Kevin Pittsnogle put WVU up by four, 37-33, with a 3-pointer at the 17:56 mark. It was the Mountaineers' largest lead of the night. Devendorf countered with two 3's and Roberts dunked a pass from seniro guard Gerry McNamara to put the Orange back on top, 41-37. It was one of McNamara's game-high nine assists on the night.

Pittsnogle drained his fourth 3 of the game to tie the score at 58-58 with four minutes remaining. SU held the Mountaineers scoreless during the final four minutes.

WVU's leading scorer was Pittsnogle with 20 points. Beilein ended up with 18, one shy of his career-best effort.

For Syracuse, junior center Darryl Watkins recorded 10 points and nine rebounds. The Orange overcame a halftime deficit for the second straight outing. SU trailed by one to Louisville on Saturday night, before rallying to claim a 79-66 triumph.

The Orange finished with fewer than 10 turnovers (nine) for just the second time this season.

SU travels to #23/23 Georgetown for a 12 p.m. tipoff at the MCI Center on Saturday, Feb. 25. ESPN Regional Television will provide the broadcast.