Winning Ways: Orange Regains Form in 73-60 Triumph Against Tulane

Saturday, December 1

Carrier Dome

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Tulane

Junior center Arinze Onuaku tallied his second double-double in as many outings with 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds against Tulane on Saturday.

Winning Ways: Orange Regains Form in 73-60 Triumph Against Tulane

12/1/2007 9:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score
Syracuse Player Quotes
Coach Boeheim Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Behind an interior presence led by junior center Arinze Onuaku and sophomore Paul Harris, Syracuse out-muscled Tulane to a 73-60 win in front 21,173 fans at the Carrier Dome on Saturday night.

The Orange rebounded from a 107-100 loss against Massachusetts on Wednesday with the inside efforts of Onuaku and Harris. Onuaku's 14 points and career-best 16 rebounds earned the junior center his second double-double in as many outings. Harris tallied 15 points and corralled 10 rebounds for his 12^th-career double-double and fifth of the campaign.

Freshman court general Jonny Flynn led all scorers with 17 points and added a team-best four assists. Flynn's second triple of the night extended Syracuse's lead to 60-47 with six minutes remaining, just minutes after the Green Wave cut the Orange advantage to six points.

Despite unusual shooting struggles, junior guard Eric Devendorf and freshman forward Donte' Greene found other ways to contribute to the Syracuse win in its first meeting all-time against Tulane.

Devendorf shot just 5-for-15 from the field and 2-for-8 from long-range, but scored 16 points. The junior sharpshooter connected on a three-point basket at the 5:33 mark of the second stanza, pushing the Orange edge to 14 points.

Greene struggled to find a rhythm as well, but tallied nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds. While Syracuse shot 19-for-27 from the charity stripe, Greene led the charge with a 7-for-8 shooting performance. The Orange's 19 free throws bested just 15 attempts from the Green Wave.

Three nights removed from scoring four players with 20-plus points, but yielding 107 to the Minutemen, the Orange dug deep and relied on its defense when needed. Tulane's leading scorer David Gomez, who entered Saturday night with a 13.4 points per game scoring average, was held to just eight points on 3-for-13 shooting.

After Flynn and Orange head coach Jim Boeheim were tagged with technical fouls, the Green Wave found itself within striking distance of an upset. One possession for Tulane produced four free throws and placed the visitors within six points of Syracuse.

However, three-point baskets from Devendorf and Flynn down the stretch, and key defensive stands led by Onuaku and Harris on the glass, insured the win for the Orange. Aiding the Syracuse cause, SU outscored the Green Wave 36-24 in the paint and 24-9 on second chance buckets.

The Orange coasted to a 28-21 halftime lead after taking advantage of a 0-for-6 shooting display from the Green Wave to open the game. Syracuse had jumped out to an 11-0 lead before Tulane's Daniel Puckett broke the visitors' scoring silence with a runner more than five minutes after the opening tip. Puckett led the Green Wave with 16 points.

After playing five of its first seven games at the Carrier Dome, the Orange returns to the road for a non-conference battle with ACC foe Virginia on Wednesday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. The game will broadcast nationally on ESPN2.