Friday, March 20
Miami, FL
12:15 p.m.
Syracuse University
59
vs
44
Stephen F. Austin
Jonny Flynn led Syracuse with 16 points in his NCAA Tournament debut.
Defense Keys Orange Victory
3/20/2009 2:19:19 PM | Men's Basketball
Syracuse 59, Stephen F. Austin 44 | Photos
Postgame Press Conference
MIAMI, FL -- Third-seeded Syracuse (27-9) suffocated No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin (24-8) with an active 2-3 zone defense on its way to a 59-44 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 20 at American Airlines arena. Syracuse advanced to the second round of the South Regional where it will face either No. 6 seed Arizona State or No. 11 seed Temple on Sunday afternoon.
The Orange zone forced the Lumberjacks into an 18-for-73 (.247) shooting day from the field, and SFA's 44 points represented the second-fewest SU has ever allowed in an NCAA Tournament game (43 vs. Princeton, 1992). The Lumberjacks were 2-of-21 (.095) from 3-point range in the game and missed all 11 of its attempts from behind the arc in the first half.
When the Lumberjacks weren't settling for jump shots, the Syracuse defenders swarmed inside, recording 11 blocks to tie the Orange team tournament record. In addition, Syracuse completely took SFA leading scorer (16.2 ppg) and Southland Conference Player of the Year Matt Kingsley out of the game. Kingsley scored just two points in 21 minutes on 1-for-8 shooting.
Sophomore point guard Jonny Flynn (www.suathletics.com/jonny) paced the SU offense with 16 points in his NCAA Tournament debut. He also dished out seven assists, passing Leo Rautins (423) for eighth on the school's all-time assists chart. Flynn has 426 assists in 71 career games (6.0 apg).
Classmate Rick Jackson recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds Friday. He also tied his career high with five blocks. Junior Arinze Onuaku (12 points) and junior Eric Devendorf (10 points) rounded out SU's double-figure scorers.
Junior Paul Harris helped the Orange to a 55-34 rebounding advantage in the contest. Harris corralled 16 boards to go along with six points. His rebounding total was three shy of the Orange tournament record of 19 set by Derrick Coleman in the 1987 NCAA title game against Indiana.
The Orange defense gave the Lumberjacks fits from the opening tip. It held SFA without a field goal for 7:15 to start the game. SFA began the contest 0-for-8 from the floor before a bucket by Josh Alexander snapped the drought.
Overall, the Lumberjacks missed 13 of its first 14 field goal attempts. By that time the Orange was already in control of the contest, leading 20-4 with 10:21 to go in the opening half. Consecutive field goals by Benson Akpan briefly lifted SFA out of its shooting funk, but the Orange advantage swelled to 17, 31-14, at the 5:15 mark on two free throws by Harris. A Flynn basket at the two-minute mark gave Syracuse its largest lead of the first half (38-18), and the Orange held a 38-22 advantage at the intermission.
Syracuse continued the offensive onslaught in the second half as Onuaku scored six straight points open the stanza. The Orange extended its run to 12-2 to take its largest lead of the game, 50-24, with 14:49 left in regulation. The Lumberjacks scored the game's next 11 points to get within 15, 50-35, with 11:36 to play before a Flynn layup stopped the SFA run.
After Flynn's basket, Syracuse managed just seven points the rest of the way, but the Lumberjacks went 3-for-20 from the floor to close the game and never threatened the Orange.
Akpan finished with a double-double 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead SFA. Nick Shaw also contributed 10 points for the Lumberjacks.
The win was the Orange's first NCAA Tournament victory in exactly five years (March 20, 2004 vs. Maryland) and improved the team's all-time tournament record to 49-31.
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