Orange Claims 160th Meeting with Raiders, 87-59

Tuesday, December 18

Carrier Dome

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Colgate

Freshman Donte' Greene tallied a career-high 26 points against Colgate on Tuesday.

12/18/2007 9:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse Player Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Behind a career-high 26 points from freshman forward Donte' Greene, Syracuse emerged with a 87-59 victory in its 160^th meeting against Central New York rival Colgate on Tuesday. Junior center Arinze Onuaku collected his third double-double of the campaign with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in front of 15,100 at the Carrier Dome.

Colgate came into the game ranked fourth nationally in three-point field goal percentage but the SU defense forced the Raiders into 22-of-59 from the field (.373) and 5-of-17 from behind the arc (.294).

Greene showcased an explosive inside-outside attack en route to a 9-for-14 shooting performance overall and a 4-for-8 display from long distance. The 6-11 forward also grabbed five rebounds.

Syracuse sprinted out of the gates to an early 5-0 advantage and never again peered in the rearview mirror. After the Raiders responded with a 5-0 run to even the score, the Orange answered with a 15-2 spurt and a commanding 20-7 advantage. Greene and Onuaku set an early tone, contributing to a 24-8 first-half edge in points in the paint.

Onuaku shot a marksmen-like 7-for-8 from the floor, missing just his first field goal attempt in the last three outings. The 6-9 center shot 6-for-6 from the field against Rhode Island before posting a flawless 9-for-9 outing against East Tennessee State.

Freshman point guard Jonny Flynn tallied 12 points and dished five assists. In the first half, Flynn displayed an uncanny leaping ability after flushing home a one-handed slam on an odd-man SU fast break. Minutes later, the rookie court general found Greene on the other end of a lob for an alley-oop dunk.

Sophomore Paul Harris turned in another blue-collar performance, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds and shooting an efficient 7-for-8 from the foul line.

Freshman combo guard Scoop Jardine earned his first-career start in the absence of injured guard Eric Devendorf. Jardine tallied four points, dished five assists and corralled four rebounds. Devendorf tore his left ACL in the early minutes of the second half against East Tennessee State and will miss the remainder of the season.

The Orange opened the game in Hall of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim's patented 2-3 halfcourt defense. However, midway through the first frame, Syracuse transitioned to a front-court man-to-man press set, forcing the Raiders into rushed possessions on the offensive end. Colgate, ranked fourth in the country with a 45.8 percent three-point shooting clip, shot a paltry 33.3 percent overall in the first half.

The second half script played out similar to the first with the Orange controlling the game's tempo. The Raiders found more success on the offensive end, but struggled to find an answer defensively. Junior Kristof Ongenaet's three-point basket along with an electrifying dunk from Greene capped off an 11-0 from the Orange, pushing the SU lead to 26 points at the 8:48 mark.

Freshman center Sean Williams made his Orange debut at the 9:20 mark of the second half. Williams collected four points, on two dunks, and blocked one shot.

Colgate junior guard Kyle Roemer, averaging 19.2 points per game at the onset of the game, scored just 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting. Traditionally a long-range threat, Roemer struggled to find an outside rhythm, posting a 1-for-6 shooting performance from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Mike Venezia led all Raiders scorers with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting.

Syracuse (8-3) returns to the friendly confines of the Carrier Dome on Saturday, December 22 against Cornell at 7:00 p.m. Orange fans can catch SU and the Big Red on Time Warner 26.