Orange Closes Preseason with 73-63 Victory Against Crimson Hawks

Sunday, November 9

Carrier Dome

2:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Indiana PA (exhibition)

Junior Arinze Onuaku had 13 rebounds and 7 points for the Orange.

Orange Closes Preseason with 73-63 Victory Against Crimson Hawks

11/9/2008 4:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse closed out the exhibition portion of the 2008-09 campaign Sunday afternoon at the Carrier Dome with a 73-63 victory against Indiana University (Pa.). A crowd of 8,655 fans were on hand for the game.

Four SU players tallied double-digits in points. Junior guard Eric Devendorf led the Orange with 15 points while sophomore guard Jonny Flynn and freshman forward Kris Joseph posted 14 apiece. Junior forward Paul Harris rounded out the top scorers for the Orange with 12 points.

The Crimson Hawks opened the game with a three-pointer from freshman Ashton Smith less than 10 seconds into the exhibition matchup. Despite the early three-point deficit, the Orange fought back when trailing 8-5 with a 10-0 run. Junior forward Arinze Onuaku was responsible for six of the points.

The Orange dominated the remainder of the first half and ultimately outscored the Crimson Hawks, 46-25, by the intermission. Syracuse had a commanding 28-6 edge on points in the paint in the first 20 minutes. Harris keyed the strong start, tallying 10 points on five-of-seven shooting and adding two assists.

While SU never lost control of the score, IUP would tally 38 points to Syracuse's 27 in the second half. Scoring went back and forth in the second half with neither team managing to take off on a significant scoring run. Flynn recorded 11 of his 14 points for the Orange after halftime and registered two of his six assists.

Onuaku was a force on defense for SU, registering 13 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive end. Senior Kristof Ongenaet made the most of his 17 minutes on the court, adding six rebounds and seven points to the team totals.

For Indiana (PA), freshman Julian Sanders had 12 points, while Smith and senior Sean Christiansen each contributed 10 points. Junior Thomas Young had eight assists for IUP and senior Chris Seaborn had eight rebounds.

SU opens the regular-season Sunday, Nov. 16 when it welcomes nearby Le Moyne to the Dome for the first game of the O'Reilly Autoparts CBE Classic. Action is slated to start at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Time Warner Sports 26. Fans can purchase tickets at SUathletics.com, over the phone at 888-DOMETIX or in person at the Carrier Dome Ticket Office during normal business hours.