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Syracuse University
Cornell University
Triche Nets Career-Best 21 Points in 88-73 Victory
11/24/2009 7:09:53 PM | Men's Basketball
Box Score | Coach Boeheim Quotes | Player Quotes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Freshman guard Brandon Triche scored a career-best 21 points and led #10/9 Syracuse (5-0) to an 88-73 victory against in-state foe Cornell (2-2) at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night.
Syracuse employed a balanced attack with nine players scoring and four in double-figures. Senior guard Andy Rautins was second on the team with 18 points, including five 3-pointers.
Junior Wes Johnson had 15 points and added a game-best 10 rebounds. Junior forward Rick Jackson aided Johnson in the paint, tallying nine boards, while sophomore Kris Joseph paired 13 points with four rebounds while collecting a game-high five steals.
Johnson also helped to direct the Syracuse offense, dishing out a team-best four assists while Rautins, Joseph and sophomore guard Scoop Jardine each had three.
Sophmore guard Chris Wroblewski led the Big Red with 20 points while senior forward Ryan Wittman had 19.
Cornell was able to keep pace with the Orange early due to its on-the-mark shooting from behind the arc Nine of its 12 first-half buckets were 3-pointers. Syracuse employed a well-balanced attack on the other end of the floor, with all seven different players that entered the game recording points.
The game heated up with SU leading, 24-22, with 6:57 remaining in the first half. In the course of one minute, the two teams exchanged the lead four times. Cornell's Jeff Reeves connected from three-point range to give the Big Red a 25-24 lead before Onuaku recorded a hoop and the harm, swinging the lead back to the Orange, 27-25. A three by Ryan Wittman gave Cornell a 28-27 lead, but Onauku converted from down low, reasserting the SU advantage, 29-28, while sparking a 10-3 Orange run. Syracuse stayed out in front to head into the break with a 42-36 lead.
Syracuse carried its momentum into the second half, utilizing a 14-4 run to take a 20-point lead, 63-43, with 11:56 remaining. Triche had six points in the run after sparking it with a trifecta.
Cornell used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit, 63- 50, but Joseph and Triche widened the gap, netting nine points and five points, respectively, to give Syracuse a 77-54 advantage with 5:56 left in the game.
The Orange defense pressured Cornell's shooters in the second half, holding the defending Ivy League champions to a 4-for-18 effort (.222) on 3-pointers after the intermission.
The victory was Syracuse's 32nd straight in the series which dates to the 1900-01 campaign, the first year of intercollegiate play at SU.
Syracuse returns to the Dome on Friday, November 27 when it hosts Columbia at 7 p.m.
