Syracuse Wins Second Consecutive BIG EAST Tournament Title

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NEW YORK – The Syracuse Orange (23-11) became the first team in BIG EAST Tournament history to win four games en route to the tournament championship as it closed out its remarkable run at its second straight BIG EAST Tournament title with a 65-61 victory against the No. 16 Pittsburgh Panthers (24-7) in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Senior guard Gerry McNamara was named BIG EAST Tournament MVP, while junior forward Demetris Nichols and junior center Darryl Watkins were named to the All-Tournament team. The Orange was the ninth seed in the tournament, while Pittsburgh was seeded sixth.

Nichols led SU with 15 points, while McNamara had 14 points and seven assists. The SU big men put up solid numbers as junior forward Terrence Roberts had 13 points, five rebounds and four blocks and Watkins had nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Carl Krauser led Pittsburgh with 16 points, while Aaron Gray posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Both Krauser and Gray were named to the all-tournament team.

The Orange came out in the first half full speed ahead, taking a 21-7 lead when Nichols hit his second three-pointer of the game near the midway point in the first half. Roberts added to the SU surge with a pair of dunks.

SU led by as many as 14 in the first half before the Panthers chipped away at the deficit when Graves hit two consecutive three pointers and Krauser added another to make it 27-19 in favor of the Orange with 3:42 left in the first frame.

SU took a 34-25 lead into the locker room after shooting 63 percent (5-8) from three-point land. Pittsburgh was hindered by eight first half turnovers that led to 16 SU points.

Pittsburgh slowly crawled back into the game in the second half. Gray converted a crucial three-point play when he was fouled on a lay-in to cut the SU lead to 47-46. On the Panthers’ next trip down the floor, Sam Young drove the baseline and laid it in to give Pittsburgh a 48-47 lead. It was the first lead for the Panthers since it led 3-2 in the opening minutes of the game.

McNamara was quick to respond, hitting his 400^th career three-pointer to put the Orange back on top, 50-48, with 7:50 left to play. The trey made McNamara just the sixth player in NCAA history to eclipse the 400 career three-point field goals milestone.

Nichols pushed the SU lead back to five points, 53-48, when he hit his fourth three-pointer of the game, however Graves answered on the other end with a three of his own to make it 53-51 with 4:23 to play.

With a one point lead, and under two minutes to play, freshman guard Eric Devendorf, who finished the game with nine points, pump faked and fired a long two-point field goal to give the Orange a three-point, 57-54, lead with 1:19 left to go. Gray answered with a lay-up on the other end to close the gap to 57-56 with 54 seconds remaining.

On SU’s ensuing possession, Devendorf was fouled when he drove the lane and went on to convert both free throws to put SU in front 59-56. The Panthers came back looking to even the score, however Nichols came up with a key steal that led to a Watkins dunk, making it, 61-56, with 16 seconds to play.

Graves hit two free throws after Devendorf was called for a blocking foul, Pittsburgh found itself down three with 16 seconds to play and was forced to put the Orange on the line. Sophomore guard Josh Wright was put on the line twice in the closing seconds and made four straight free throws to close out the 65-61 triumph.

The Orange will move on to the NCAA Tournament with its automatic bid. The tournament begins Thursday, March 16.

Syracuse University Athletics

Syracuse Wins Second Consecutive BIG EAST Tournament Title

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