Syracuse University
Seton Hall University
Triche Sparks Orange in Win at Seton Hall
1/8/2011 2:19:55 PM | Men's Basketball
NEWARK, N.J. – Sophomore Brandon Triche scored all 15 of his points in the second half to lead No. 4/4 Syracuse (16-0, 3-0) to a 61-56 victory against Seton Hall (7-9, 1-3) in the Prudential Center on Saturday, January 8. .
It marks the second time in head coach Jim Boeheim's tenure that the Orange has started a season with 16 consecutive wins. The 1999-2000 squad won 19 contests before losing its first game on February 7 at Seton Hall.
Triche was 5-for-7 from the field, including 4-for-5 from three-point range. Junior Kris Joseph also recorded 15 points to go along with eight rebounds. Senior Rick Jackson led the Orange on the boards with 14. He added nine points, giving him 997 in his career.
Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the first half. Syracuse scored the first five points of the game and led 7-2 at the 16:41 mark. Seton Hall cut the lead to one at 9-8 before three consecutive points from freshman #C.J. Fair# and a free throw by Joseph increased the Orange's lead back to five. After the Pirates again cut the lead to one, Syracuse scored five unanswered points to take its largest lead of the half, 18-12, with 5:06 remaining. Seton Hall wouldn't go away, closing out the half on a 7-2 scoring run to cut the Orange's lead to one, 20-19 at halftime. Three of the Pirates' points during the run came from the free throw line as Syracuse held SHU without a field goal for more than three minutes before Eniel Polynice's basket with 58 seconds remaining capped the run.
The Orange defense limited Seton Hall to 8-for-35 (22.9 percent) from the floor in the first half, including 0-for-17 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Syracuse's 20 points is its lowest point total in a half this season.
Triche scored 11 of the Orange's first 18 points of the second half as SU built a 10-point advantage at 38-28 at the 13:33 mark. Seton Hall scored five straight points to get within five, but Triche recorded a four-point play on a made three-pointer and a free throw and Joseph made a pair of free throws to extend SU's lead to 44-33 with 11:28 remaining. Leading by six with 9:54 on the clock, junior Scoop Jardine converted two free throws, starting the Orange on an 8-0 scoring run that gave Syracuse its largest lead of the game at 54-40 with 5:57 left. Jackson's tip-in capped the run and would be the Orange's last points until the 2:33 mark.
Seton Hall recorded 11 unanswered points to pull within three, 54-51 at the 2:49 mark. Herb Pope accounted for seven points during the Pirates' run. Joseph halted the run with a free throw, but the Pirates' Jordan Theodore hit two shots from the charity stripe to cut the lead to two, 55-53, with 2:18 remaining. That was as close as Seton Hall would get as Jardine scored five points in the final two minutes of the game, including a free throw with 7.4 seconds remaining, to give the Orange the six-point victory.
Jardine finished with 12 points to along with three assists. Seton Hall's Jeff Robinson led all scorers with 17, while Pope recorded a double-double with 14 points and 20 rebounds.
The Orange continues its road swing on Wednesday, January 12 when it plays St. John's in Madison Square Garden. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
