Outside Attack Sparks Villanova Pass the Orange in Second Half, 82-63

Wednesday, March 12

Madison Square Garden

12:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

BIG EAST Tournament vs. Villanova

Donte' Greene led three Syracuse scorers with 17 points against Villanova on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

Outside Attack Sparks Villanova Pass the Orange in Second Half, 82-63

3/12/2008 1:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score
Syracuse Postgame Quotes

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Freshman forward Donte' Greene totaled a team-high 17 points, tallied five rebounds and dished four assists in Syracuse's (19-13) 82-63 BIG EAST Tournament opening-round loss against Villanova (20-11) on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. The Wildcats overcame an 11-point first-half deficit with a 65.4 percent shooting performance in the closing 20 minutes.

Rookie point guard Jonny Flynn collected 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting overall and recorded four helpers. Sophomore guard Paul Harris was the third and final member of the Orange in double figures, scoring 13 points on 2-for-3 shooting from three-point range and registering four boards.

Junior forward Kristof Ongenaet posted five points and matched Greene's team-high with five rebounds.

The Orange shot 43.5 percent from the field in the first half and owned its largest lead of the contest, 11 points, at the 11:12 mark following Greene's third triple of the game.

Syracuse took a command of the game early behind a long-range assault from Greene and Harris. Greene led all scorers at the break with 11 points, while Harris drained back-to-back three-point tries.

Syracuse's advantage was narrowed to six points, 24-18, after a free throw from Villanova junior Dante Cunningham with 5:54 remaining. Flynn provided SU with an eight-point edge, 26-18, before the Wildcats closed the first half on a 9-2 run. Junior Dwayne Anderson's three-point field goal with time expiring trimmed the Orange edge to one point, 28-27, at the intermission.

Villanova carried its momentum into the second half, connecting on 8-of-10 three-point attempts in the stanza en route to 55 points. Freshman Corey Stokes drained a triple from the top of the key, handing VU a lead it would never relinquish, 44-41. Back-to-back three-balls from Stokes and Anderson provided the Wildcats a 10-point cushion at the 8:34 mark.

The Orange struggled to find a scoring rhythm after halftime, shooting 38.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc. Following Flynn's runner in the lane that tied the game's score at 41, Syracuse was limited to just three field goals in the subsequent 9:32.

Syracuse twice cut the Wildcats' lead to 16 points in the final three minutes and change after Greene converted an old-fashion three-point play and a field goal from freshman combo guard Scoop Jardine with 2:16 remaining.

The Wildcats offense boasted five scorers in double figures, including Reynolds' game-high 22 points on 6-for-12 shooting overall. Villanova advances to the tournament's quarterfinal round and meets top-seeded Georgetown on Thursday at noon.

The Orange returns to Syracuse and will learn its postseason fate on Sunday, March 16.