No. 1 Syracuse Tops N.C. State, 88-72

Saturday, December 17

Raleigh, NC

6:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

North Carolina State

Waiters led five players in double-figures with a career-high 22 points

12/17/2011 7:29:05 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score | Season Statistics | Photo Gallery

RALEIGH, N.C. – No. 1 Syracuse (11-0) remained undefeated and won its first true road game of the season with an 88-72 victory at N.C. State (6-4) on Saturday night at the RBC center.

The Syracuse bench outscored the Wolfpack bench 46-4, thanks in part to Dion Waiters, #C.J. Fair and James Southerland# who combined for 44 of those points. Waiters scored a career-high 22 points, while Kris Joseph totaled a season-best 21 points. Scoop Jardine, Fair and Southerland also reached double-figures with 16, 11 and 11, respectively.

N.C. State jumped out to an early lead and played with the advantage for the first 13 plus minutes of the game. With the Wolfpack up 29-23, SU caught fire and went on a 23-0 run to take control of the half.

Joseph hit a three pointer to give SU its first lead at 30-29, which was followed up by back-to-back three's by Southerland. The Orange was 8-of-15 from behind the arch in the first half and took a 47-33 lead into the locker room.

The Wolfpack responded with a 17-3 spurt of its own to open the second half and tied the game at 50-50. From there, the second half would be tied two more times, but Syracuse would not trail at any point in the frame.

With the two sides knotted up at 54, a C.J. Fair offensive rebound and put back gave SU a 56-54 advantage and the Orange would have the lead for the remainder of the game.

The Orange was clutch down the stretch, connecting on nine of its final 10 shots to separate from the Wolfpack. With SU up 63-61 at the 8:38 mark, Syracuse ended the game on a 25-11 run to seal the victory. Jardine, Joseph and Waiters tallied 23 of the team's final 25 points.

N.C. State had four players in double-figures, led by CJ Williams with 25 points. CJ Leslie (13), Richard Howell (12) and Lorenzo Brown (10) joined Williams in double-digits.

The Orange shot 57 percent for the game (35-of-62) and hit 11 of its 25 three point attempts. Syracuse caused 19 N.C. State turnovers and converted those into 25 points.

Joseph and Fab Melo grabbed a team-high five rebounds apiece, while Brandon Triche dished out a team-best four assists.

The top-ranked Orange is back in action on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome against Bucknell. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Fans can buy tickets at the online, at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B) or by calling 1-888-DOMETIX.