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Syracuse University
Notre Dame University
Johnson, Rautins Lead Syracuse to Big Monday Win
1/18/2010 9:43:38 PM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – #Wes Johnson and Andy Rautins combined for 43 points to lead 5/5 Syracuse (18-1, 5-1) to an 84-71 against Notre Dame (14-5, 3-3) on Monday night at the Joyce Center. The third BIG EAST road win in six days helped the Orange remain a perfect 7-0 away from the Carrier Dome this season.
Johnson notched double-digit scoring for the 18th time in 19 games. The junior transfer matched his offensive performance with a team-best eight rebounds while dishing out three assists.
Rautins led the Orange from long-range, shooting 5-of-9 from behind the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. The senior also tallied four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Senior center Arinze Onuaku rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Orange, matching 13 points with seven rebounds.
Freshman guard Brandon Triche and sophomore forward Kris Joseph each added eight to the Orange cause. Triche also posted four assists, a steal and a blocked shot, while Joseph collected five rebounds in a reserve role.
Junior forward Rick Jackson had six points, four rebounds and a pair of assists, while notching a pair of blocks to move into a tie for 10th on the SU career blocked shots ledger with 140. Jackson is tied with Dan Schayes who had 140 blocked shots during his career with the Orange from 1977-80.
Redshirt sophomore Scoop Jardine rounded out the scoring for the Orange, tallying six points and a team-best six assists off the bench.
Rautins knocked down three-straight three's to help Syracuse take an early 11-7 lead. A deep three by Rautins at the 11:24 minute mark built the Orange edge to seven, 21-14. The Irish responded, scoring seven unanswered points to tie the game, 23-23, with 7:10 left to play in the first half.
A 16-5 run gave the Orange its largest lead of the half, 39-28, before Notre Dame closed the opening stanza with a pair of field goals to make it, 39-32, at the break.
Triche recorded the hoop and harm out of the intermission, building the Syracuse lead to 10, before Notre Dame cut the deficit to 42-37, with a 5-0 run. The Orange refused to relent, using a 10-4 scoring spurt, which included five points by Triche, to distance the Irish, 52-41, with 14:47 remaining in regulation.
Notre Dame battled back, compiling a 12-3 run to pull within a basket, 55-53, with 9:47 left to play, but that was as close as the hosts would get for the remainder of the game. Syracuse widened the gap with a 10-3 scoring streak before back-to-back three's by Tim Abromaitis made it a two-possession game, 67-62.
The Orange outscoring the Irish 17-9 through the final three minutes of play to seal the victory, 84-71.
Luke Harangody, The BIG EAST Conference Preseason Player of the Year, led Notre Dame with 31 points on 13-of-26 shooting and a game-high 14 rebounds while Abromaitis had 26 points on 10-of-17 from the floor including 5-for-11 from three-point range.
The Big Monday matchup ended a season-long three-game road swing for the Orange, which returns to the Carrier Dome on Saturday, January 23 to host Marquette. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
