SU Takes More Time, Beats WVU

Friday, March 13

Madison Square Garden

9:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

West Virginia

Andy Rautins at the 2009 BIG EAST Tournament

Junior Andy Rautins hit four three-point field goals in SU's second-straight BIG EAST Tournament overtime victory, a 74-69 win against WVU.

3/14/2009 1:12:09 AM | Men's Basketball

Syracuse 74, West Virginia 69 (OT)

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- #18/20 Syracuse (26-8) didn't take as much time as it had the night before but the result was the same as the Orange defeated West Virginia (23-11) in one overtime, 74-69, in a BIG EAST Conference semifinal at Madison Square Garden.

The victory sent the Orange to its 14th BET Championship game. Syracuse will face top seeded #5/5 Louisville (27-5) at 9:00 p.m.

Junior Eric Devendorf led SU with 23 points, while sophomore Jonny Flynn finished out the night with 15 points and a game-high nine assists. Junior Andy Rautins rounded out the top scorers with 12 points, all from beyond the arc, and senior Kristof Ongenaet led all players with 10 rebounds.

On Thursday in the quarterfinals of the tournament, Syracuse played Connecticut to six overtimes before outscoring the Huskies 17-7 in the final overtime period for a 127-117 victory. The last time Syracuse played back-to-back overtime games was during the 1996-97 season when it won at West Virginia 87-77 on February 15 and followed it up with a home win against Connecticut, 71-66 in overtime two days later.

Syracuse is now 4-0 in overtime contests this year. The Orange have gone to overtime in three of the last four games, a streak started by a win at Marquette on March 7.

Friday's encounter was forced into an extra session by two free throws from freshman Devin Ebanks with four seconds left in regulation that tied the contest, 63-63.

Junior Paul Harris opened the overtime with a field goal to give SU the early, 65-63, lead. Flynn tacked on a bucket of his own and after being fouled by Wellington Smith, added two free throws to put the Orange up six with 2:16 to play.

West Virginia responded with free throws from Kevin Jones that brought the Mountaineers within three, 70-67. Harris made one of two free throws after being fouled by Butler, but then fouled Devin Ebanks who went 2-for-2 at the line, putting WVU within striking distance. A free throw from Harris and a fastbreak layup from Devendorf secured the victory for the Orange.

Syracuse trailed for almost the first 12 minutes of the game as West Virginia worked up to a five-point lead on three separate occasions. It was SU's three-point shooting that kept the Mountaineers from running off early. Devendorf, Rautins and Flynn all tallied threes with Flynn's at the 9:13 mark cutting the WVU lead to one, 18-17.

Back-to-back baskets from junior Arinze Onuaku gave Syracuse a slim 19-18 edge, but SU was up by eight with three minutes to go after field goals from Devendorf and Flynn and a trey from Rautins. A bucket from Ebanks and a three from Darryl Bryant had WVU within four with 14 seconds left in the half, but a halfcourt shot from Devendorf swished through the net as time ran out for a 36-29 halftime lead.

The Orange grabbed its largest advantage of the game less than a minute into the second stanza when Harris scored to increase the edge to 38-29. However, a 13-0 Mountaineer run had WVU leading 42-38 at the 15:42 mark. Syracuse regained the lead off a trifecta from Flynn and a second-chance basket from Ongenaet, 47-45, only to have Ebanks steal the lead right back with two free throws.

A bucket from Jackson and eight points from Devendorf gave Syracuse a five-point cushion with 3:55 remaining, but a small 6-2 run by WVU gave the Mountaineers the momentum to force overtime.

Ebanks and Butler led West Virginia with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Ebanks was 7-for-10 from the field and a solid 8-for-8 from the foul line. Alex Ruoff was one of three players to pull down six boards for the evening while also registering a team-leading nine assists.