SU Hunts Down Bearcats in 87-63 Win

Sunday, March 1

Carrier Dome

2:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Cincinnati

Junior Eric Devendorf finished the day with 13 points, five assists and game-high three steals against the Bearcats.

3/1/2009 4:05:14 PM | Men's Basketball

Syracuse 87, Cincinnati 63 |Coach Boeheim Postgame Quotes | Student-Athlete Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse (21-8, 9-7) ran away with an 87-63 victory against Cincinnati (18-11, 8-8) Sunday afternoon. Five members of the Orange squad recorded double-digit points with sophomore Jonny Flynn leading the way with 17 in front of a Carrier Dome crowd totaling 25,139.

Flynn was a solid 5-of-8 from the field, while also making 5-of-6 from the foul line. Junior Paul Harris was second on the team with 16 points. Sophomore Rick Jackson and junior Eric Devendorf added 13 points apiece, with Devendorf registering three steals and Jackson posting three blocks. Junior Arinze Onuaku rounded out the top Orange scorers with 10 points. Senior Kristof Ongenaet was the leading rebounder pulling down nine boards.

Cincinnati got off to a rough start in the first half missing its first four field goal attempts, while the Orange took a 6-0 lead off a game-opening layup from Jackson, a free throw from Harris and trey from Flynn. Baskets from Steve Toyloy and Larry Davis made it a two-point game, but the Bearcats went on to miss six consecutive baskets and Syracuse found itself up by 15, 19-4, at the 10:57 mark after 13 straight points.

Dion Dixon cut the SU lead to 10 with 9:11 to play in the half. However, it was the closest the Bearcats would get to the Orange for the rest of the game.

A Devendorf trifecta led off a 15-2 Orange run which put Syracuse up by 23 with about five-and-a-half minutes until the break. The Bearcats frustration began to mount in the midst of the run when Harris stole the ball from Alvin Mitchell. Harris raced down the court, but Mitchell wasn't far behind and was called for an intentional foul on Harris and was ejected from the game.

Two baskets from Toyloy sandwiching a Jackson layup put the Bearcats within 21, 36-15. Foul line trips for two points each from Devendorf and Harris had the Orange back up by 23, 40-17, at intermission.

Syracuse held St. John's to .200 (6-of-30) shooting, including a dismal .067 (1-of-15) from beyond the arc. SU was a solid .478 (11-of-23) in the first period, while making 14-of-18 from the line (.778).

The Orange opened the second half with 16 points to the Bearcats six for a 33, 59-26, advantage less than six minutes into the frame. Jackson contributed seven of SU's points during the time period, while Onuaku added six.

Eleven straight points by Cincinnati, including three three-pointers in a row, had the Bearcats within 22 at 12:21. Syracuse answered with six points from Harris and two each from Devendorf and Jackson to put SU up by 30, with 9:41 left in the game.

As time wound down, the Bearcats fought to close the gap by attacking from beyond the arc. Despite making four of nine three-pointer attempts with three from Deonta Vaughn, the gap was just too large.

Cincinnati improved its shoot to a solid .552 (16-of-29) from the field in the second half including a .500 (8-of-16) effort from beyond the arc. Syracuse outscored the Bearcats 48-18 in the paint and 21-2 in fastbreak situations.

Leading UC was Dixon with 18 points, Vaughn with 11 and Toyloy with 10.

The Orange plays its final home game of the season on Tuesday, March 3 when it hosts Rutgers in a 9 p.m. matchup in the Carrier Dome. Fans can purchase tickets at SUathletics.com, over the phone at 888-DOMETIX or in person at the Carrier Dome Ticket Office during normal business hours.