Double-Doubles from Harris, Onuaku Not Enough at No. 21/21 Notre Dame

Sunday, February 24

Joyce Center

2:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Notre Dame

Syracuse donned an all-blue uniform against Notre Dame on Sunday for the first time since the 1987-88 season.

Double-Doubles from Harris, Onuaku Not Enough at No. 21/21 Notre Dame

2/24/2008 7:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sophomore forward Paul Harris posted his 16^th-career double-double with a team-high 22 points and 12 rebounds in Syracuse's (17-11, 7-8) 94-87 loss at BIG EAST foe No. 21/21 Notre Dame (21-5, 11-3) on Sunday. Junior center Arinze Onuaku tallied his eighth-career double-double with 19 points and 12 boards.

Freshman point guard Jonny Flynn totaled 17 points, a game-high tying six assists and four rebounds. Junior forward Kristof Ongenaet was the fourth and final Orange player in double figures with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Freshman forward Donte' Greene struggled from the field, scoring five points and corralling seven caroms. Classmate Scoop Jardine chipped in eight points on 4-for-7 shooting overall in 23 minutes of action off the SU bench.

Harris collected 15 points and six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, but the Orange trailed by 10 points, 46-36, at the intermission. The Irish twice led by seven points before the cushion grew to nine following a lay-up Jonathan Peoples.

Harris sunk two free throws at the 5:11 mark, trimming the deficit to six points. However, Notre Dame outscored the Orange 11-7 heading into the locker room. The Irish shot a blistering 59.3 percent from the field in the first half, and 54.7 percent for the game.

The Orange narrowed the Notre Dame lead to seven points on two different occasions in the first one minute and change in the second frame. Greene freed himself for his lone trifecta of the contest before Onuaku rolled out a textbook drop-step move on the block.

The Irish answered with back-to-back three-point baskets from guard Kyle McAlarney and forward Rob Kurz, pushing the ND advantage back to 10, 54-44. McAlarney drained another triple with just less than 14 minutes remaining, supplying the hosts with a game-high 16 point cushion.

Syracuse resiliently answered back with an 11-3 run, cutting the Irish lead to just eight points at 66-58 with 10:46 on the clock. Flynn ignited the scoring spurt with a three-ball before Jardine connected on consecutive jump-shots. Freshman center Rick Jackson punctuated the run with a lay-in in the paint.

Notre Dame absorbed the blow and dealt SU yet another one with a three-point basket by McAlarney at the 8:25 mark. The Irish advantage grew to 14 points following a lay-in from Zach Hillesland with 7:48 remaining.

The Orange twice trimmed the deficit to six points in the final five minutes. Onuaku's dunk at the 4:04 mark brought SU to within 78-72. However, a dunk from Luke Harangody with 2:19 left ballooned the lead back to double digits.

McAlarney powered the Notre Dame offense with a team-high 30 points on a school-record nine three-point field goals. Kurz tallied 15 points, while Harangody posted a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. The Irish shot 56.0 percent from the three-point line en route to extending their home win streak to 36 games.

Syracuse unveiled an all-blue uniform to the nationally-televised audience for the first time since the 1987-88 season.

The Orange returns to the friendly confines of the Carrier Dome on Saturday, March 1 against BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh at 12:00 p.m. SU fans can catch Syracuse and the Panthers on ESPN.