Notre Dame Ends SU's BIG EAST Tournament Reign

Thursday, March 8

Madison Square Garden

2:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

BIG EAST Tournament vs. Notre Dame

Paul Harris scored a career-high 24 points against Notre Dame.

3/8/2007 4:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

New York, N.Y.- Terrence Roberts and Paul Harris each notched double-doubles, but fourth-seeded Notre Dame (24-6) used a big run early in the second half to beat fifth-seeded Syracuse (22-10), 89-83, in the quarterfinals of the 2007 BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden. The loss snaps Syracuse's BIG EAST winning streak at eight games, the second longest in conference history.

Harris recorded career-highs with a game-high 24 points and 15 rebounds. He had 15 points and 13 boards in the second half. Roberts had 10 points and a career-best 20 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive glass. Roberts became the first Syracuse player to accumulate 20 rebounds since Billy Owens had 21 against Villanova on March 8, 1991. His effort gives him 63 rebounds in his career at the BIG EAST Tournament, which puts him in fifth place on the school's all-time list.

Darryl Watkins had seven points and seven rebounds. He ends his career with 69 rebounds at the BIG EAST Tournament, good for fourth on Syracuse's all-time list. Demetris Nichols scored all but one of his 17 points in the second half. He has scored 112 points in his career at the BIG EAST Tournament, putting him in 11th place on the school's all-time tournament scoring list. Eric Devendorf added 19 points and a team-best three assists.

Syracuse struggled from the free throw line, shooting just 16-for-29 in the game. At one point in the second half, the Orange missed seven-consecutive shots from the line. Notre Dame excelled from the charity stripe, shooting 22-of-26 for the game, 20-of-24 in the second half. Notre Dame's final 10 points of the game were from free throws and the Irish made six straight in the final 45 seconds.

Andy Rautins started the game off well for the Orange, nailing a three-pointer on the team's first shot attempt. Notre Dame gained a 10-7 lead in the first five minutes. The Orange then went on a 19-6 run over a span of 7:51 to take a 26-16 lead. Harris scored seven-consecutive points for the Orange and Devendorf contributed six during he run. All six of Notre Dame's points came from Luke Harangody.

Notre Dame came right back with a 13-2 run over the next three minutes to regain the lead, 29-28. The Irish connected on three three-pointers, two from Russell Carter and one from Colin Falls. The Irish made just one basket in the final five minutes of the half, a three-pointer by Falls with 24 seconds left, and the Orange scored six points to take a 34-32 halftime lead.

At the beginning of the second half, Notre Dame used an 11-4 run to take the lead for good, 43-39. Nichols made a three-pointer, his first basket of the game, to cut the lead down to a point, but back-to-back threes from Tory Jackson and Falls, followed by a layup from Harangody, gave the Irish a nine point advantage, 51-42.

Syracuse came back with a 9-2 spurt as Nichols made two triples and Devendorf added another to cut the deficit down to a basket, 53-51. Notre Dame built its lead back up to double-digits, 65-55, with a 12-4 run. Syracuse managed to pull back within four points with five minutes to go, but could get no closer as Notre Dame made its free throws down the stretch to secure the victory and advance to play Georgetown in the semifinals.

The win is Notre Dame's against Syracuse in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Orange won the previous two matchups in 1997 and 1996. Harangody finished with a double-double, totaling 20 points and 11 rebounds. Carter and Falls combined for 11 of Notre Dame's 13 three-pointers and scored 24 and 23 points, respectively.