Orange Soars Versus Golden Eagles; Defeats #15/21 Marquette, 70-58

Sunday, January 7

Milwaukee, WI

8:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Marquette

Eric Devendorf scored a season-best 20 points to lead SU past Marquette.

Orange Soars Versus Golden Eagles; Defeats #15/21 Marquette, 70-58

1/7/2007 10:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The SU men's basketball team (12-4, 1-1) earned its first BIG EAST victory of 2006-07 and its first win this year against a ranked opponent with a 70-58 triumph at #15/21 Marquette (13-4, 0-2) on Sunday, Jan. 7 at the Bradley Center. The Orange closed the game with a 15-3 run to seal the victory.

After Marquette's David Cubillan tied the game at 55-55 with a 3-pointer at the 4:05 mark, SU tallied 15 of contest's final 18 points. The Orange hit 10-of-12 free throws during the game-clinching run and allowed just one field goal by the Golden Eagles, a Dominic James layup with 29 seconds to play, during that stretch.

The difference in the game was at the free-throw line. The Orange was 21-of-35 (.600) from the charity stripe and connected on 21-of-29 attempts in the second half (.724). The Golden Eagles were just 6-for-15 (.400) from the foul line Sunday night, a difference of 15 points.

Sophomore guard Eric Devendorf recorded a season-best 20 points to lead all scorers. He was 8-for-17 from the field. It was the fourth straight double-figure scoring game for Devendorf, who is averaging 17.5 points per contest in his last four outings.

Senior center Darryl Watkins registered 14 points and 10 rebounds to post his second double-double of the year. It was his third consecutive game in double figures, representing the first time in his career he has scored at least 10 points in three straight contest. He also blocked five shots against the Golden Eagles to increase his career total to 202. He is the ninth Orange player to reach 200 career rejections. He is one block shy of tying Conrad McCrae (203) for eighth on SU's all-time list.

Junior point guard Josh Wright finished with nine points. He hauled in a career-best seven rebounds and also contributed seven assists. Senior Demetris Nichols notched his 15^th double-digit scoring effort of 2006-07 with 17 points.

The contest was nip and tuck the whole way and the second half featured four ties and five lead changes. Syracuse never trailed after a Wright free throw made the score 40-39 with 13:34 left, but did not claim a double-digit cushion until there was less than a minute to play.

The Orange began the game by pounding the ball inside. Ten of its first 12 points came in the paint area, including four each by senior Terrence Roberts and Watkins. Roberts staked the Orange to a 10-7 lead with a follow-up slam at the 14:48 mark of the first half.

The Golden Eagles took its first lead of the contest, 11-10, after a pair of free throws by Lazar Hayward and an alley oop jam by Wesley Matthews at 13:45. Marquette's Jarel McNeal, who missed the Golden Eagles' last game with a head injury, recorded a pair of steals and converted back-to-back baskets to put Marquette up, 17-14, with 11:23 remaining in the period.

The Orange tallied the game's next 10 points, including seven in a row by Devendorf, to claim a 24-17 advantage with 6:51 remaining the first half. McNeal snapped a 5 minute and 18 second Marquette scoring drought with a layup at 5:41. After a bucket by SU freshman Paul Harris, the Golden Eagles scored five consecutive points to whittle the Orange margin to two, 26-24, with 4:14 to go in the period. A Nichols basket extended SU's lead to four, but Marquette scored the final five points of the half, including a layup by James at the buzzer to take a 29-28 lead at the break.

The lead changed hands four times in the first four minutes of the second half and a layup by James spotted Marquette a 39-36 edge with 16:05 left in the game and forced an SU timeout. SU tied the contest at 39-39 on three straight free throws by Nichols and snatched the lead on a Wright's charity shot. A layup by Devendorf pushed the margin to three, but the Golden Eagles tied the score, 42-42, on a McNeal triple at the 12:10 mark.

SU registered the next four points, but consecutive hoops by Matthews knotted the contest again at 46-46 with 9:23 to play. Five straight points by the Orange were answered by consecutive hoops by the Golden Eagles to make the score 51-50 with 6:21 remaining. Two free throws each by Watkins and Wright extended SU's lead to 55-52.

McNeal led the way for the Golden Eagles with 16 points. Matthews finished with 14 and Ousmane Barro was the club's top rebounder with nine caroms.

The SU defense forced 23 turnovers and registered 11 steals, including three by Devendorf. The Orange held Marquette to 37.5 percent shooting for the game (24-64).

The Orange will play its second straight road game on Wednesday, Jan. 10 when it competes at Rutgers. Tip off against the Scarlet Knights is at 9:00 p.m. from the Louis Brown Athletic Center. The contest will be televised live on ESPN Regional.