Flynn Matches Career-High in 82-77 Loss to BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh

Saturday, March 1

Carrier Dome

12:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Pittsburgh

Freshman court general Jonny Flynn matched a career high with 28 points against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Flynn Matches Career-High in 82-77 Loss to BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh

3/1/2008 3:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Freshman point guard Jonny Flynn matched a career high with 28 points, including a personal-best tying six 3-point field goals, in Syracuse's (17-12, 7-9) 82-77 loss against BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh (21-8, 9-7) at the Carrier Dome on Saturday. The Loud House played host to 26,632 fans, the third-largest on-campus crowd in college basketball this season.

Flynn duplicates his record-breaking performance against Siena in the season's opening contest. The Niagara Fall, N.Y., native collected 28 points, setting an SU record for a freshman in his debut and surpassing Carmelo Anthony's 27-point effort against Memphis in 2002.

Freshman forward Donte' Greene tallied 23 points, on 10-for-18 shooting overall, and grabbed five rebounds. The 6-11 rookie collected 18 points in the second half, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor overall.

Sophomore guard Paul Harris totaled 18 points, on 6-for-10 shooting from the field. Junior center Arinze Onuaku recorded seven points and five boards.

The Orange held an 11-point advantage at the 3:49 mark of the second frame following a thunderous two-hand Onuaku flush off a screen-and-slip feed from the Harris. The sequence sent the Carrier Dome faithful into hysterics and forced Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon into a timeout. The Panthers responded, scoring 18 of the game's final 20 points, including four free throws from guard Levance Fields with less than two seconds remaining.

Flynn's runner in the paint with 98 seconds left provided Syracuse with a four-point edge, 77-73. Pitt guard Gilbert Brown answered the Orange with a 3-point field goal on the ensuing possession before guard Keith Benjamin's steal and lay-in with 11 seconds remaining handed the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish.

Syracuse stormed the Panthers to a game-high 11 point cushion, 70-59, after a 14-2 run with 5:54 on the clock. Greene was especially fantastic throughout the scoring spurt, canning two jumpers along the baseline before connecting on a smooth fall-away 10-footer. Flynn punctuated the stretch with the 3-ball on the right wing in front of the SU bench, prompting the Panthers to burn a 30-second timeout.

The Orange twice pushed its advantage back to 11 points after facing resistence from the visitors. Flynn drained an NBA-range triple before the Harris-to-Onuaku connection.

While Greene powered Syracuse in the closing 20 minutes, it was the Orange offense running on all cyclinders in the first half courtesy of Flynn. At the break, the rookie floor general tallied a game-leading 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting overall, including a scorching 4-for-5 performance from long range.

Harris powered SU to a 16-9 lead at the 13:37 mark with lay-ins, the second off a feed from Flynn, and a fast-break one-hand dunk. The squads traded blows before Flynn's 3-point field goal supplied the hosts with 24-20 edge with slightly more than eight minutes remaining before the break.

With Pitt forward DeJuan Blair relegated to the pine with two personal fouls, Onuaku came into his own on the low block. The 6-9 junior twice backed down his defender before unleashing his patented power-dribble, drop-step jump-hook.

The Orange closed the first half on a 9-2 spurt, charged by Flynn. He sandwiched two tough lay-ins among the trees around a 3-point field before finding Greene for a right-hand finish at the 1:15 mark. The Orange shot a blistering 59.1 percent from the field in the first half, and 58.8 percent for the game.

Junior forward Sam Young led five scorers for the Panthers in double figures with 19 points. Benjamin tallied 17 points and corralled a game-high seven rebounds.

Syracuse returns to the road for the first of its final two BIG EAST regular-season games against Seton Hall at 7:00 p.m. SU fans can catch the Orange and Pirates on Time Warner 26.