Rautins' 29 Points Lead SU to 82-71 Triumph
12/22/2008 9:09:02 PM | Men's Basketball
Syracuse 82, Coppin State 71 | Coach Boeheim Quotes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – It was a record-breaking night for the #17/14 Orange as junior guard Andy Rautins nailed nine three-pointers for a Syracuse Carrier Dome record in an 82-71 victory against Coppin State. Rautins, who had a career-high 29 points, tied Gerry McNamara’s single-game SU record for three-pointers in a game set in the 2004 NCAA Tournament against BYU.
In front of 17,214 Syracuse fans, four Orange men joined Rautins in double-digit scoring. Junior Paul Harris was second on the team with 15 points and nine rebounds, while junior Arinze Onuaku added 12 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. It was his third double-double of the season and 13th of his career. Sophomores Jonny Flynn and Rick Jackson added 10 points apiece with Flynn also recording 10 assists.
Rautins opened the game with a three-pointer. Flynn added another on SU’s next possession and Onuaku followed it up with a layup to help the Orange produce an 8-2 start. Syracuse built its lead up to 10 points, 21-11, by the 12:49 mark, courtesy of six points from Jackson.
Coppin State fought back to within two points, 28-26, with a little over six minutes before the break thanks to a 15-7 scoring run.The Orange answered back with nine straight points, including back-to-back threes from Rautins, to give SU a 37-26 advantage.
With the Eagles within five, Flynn scored two free throws and Harris followed up with five straight points, including a buzzer-beating dunk at the end of regulation. Fouled in the process, Harris nailed a charity bucket to send the Orange to the locker room with a 46-34 halftime lead.
Syracuse made 16-of-32 (50 percent) shots from the field and was 6-of-15 from beyond the arc in the opening period. Rautins led the Orange with 17 first half points after going 5-for-9 from the three-point range and adding two free throws. Coppin State guard Tywain McKee was almost as effective, tallying 16 of his club's 34 points by the intermission.
The Eagles opened up the second half with a trifecta from McKee, but neither team was able to establish a strong scoring run until Coppin State’s Lenny Young recorded two free throws to bring the Eagles within four points of taking control of the lead. A Harris layup and another Rautins trey sparked a 19-4 SU run that gave the Orange an 80-63 lead with less than three to play in the game. As the clock ran down, Coppin State added eight more points to SU’s two to close out the contest.
The Orange held the Eagles to only 36.1 percent (26-of-72) shooting, despite McKee posting a game-high 31 points. He also pulled down a team-high nine boards. Other top scorers for Coppin State included Jordan Lee with 12 points and Young with 10.
Syracuse shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55) for the game and outscored the Eaglesin the paint, 40-18. The Orange have now won all three series meetings with the Eagles.
Jim Boeheim worked his 1,062nd game as head coach of the Orange and moved into a 15th-place tie with Hugh Durham on the Division I Games Coached list.
Syracuse is back in action on Tuesday, December 30 when it hosts conference foe Seton Hall in a 7 p.m. matchup in the Carrier Dome. Tickets can be purchased online at SUathletics.com, by phone at 1-800-DomeTix or in person at the Carrier Dome box office during regular business hours.
