Orange Clinches BIG EAST Title

Saturday, February 25

Storrs, CT

9:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Connecticut

Kris Joseph led the Orange with 21 points against Connecticut.

2/25/2012 9:57:42 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score | Season Stats | Coach Boeheim Quotes | Big East Champs Tee

STORRS, Conn. – Sophomore Fab Melo's offensive rebound and slam dunk with 31 seconds remaining gave No. 2/2 Syracuse (29-1, 16-1) a 71-69 victory against Connecticut (17-11, 7-9)in Storrs, Conn. on Saturday, Feb. 25. With the win the Orange claims the outright BIG EAST regular-season title for the second time in three years.

Syracuse led by as many as 17 points in the second half, but Connecticut used a 14-3 run to tie the score at 63-63 with 4:17 to play. The teams traded baskets before Andre Drummond's tip-in with 47 seconds remaining knotted the game at 69-69.

Head coach Jim Boeheim called timeout and on the Orange's last possession, Melo's dunk off #C.J. Fair#'s missed shot gave Syracuse a 71-69 lead with 31 ticks left on the clock. The Huskies went for the win on a three-pointer by Ryan Boatman, but Dion Waiters deflected the ball, which went out of bounds off the Orange with 13 seconds remaining, giving Connecticut one final possession.

Following back-to-back timeouts by the Huskies, Roscoe Smith drove the lane and put up an off-balance shot, which was blocked by Fair to seal the Orange's first win at Gampel Pavilion in five tries.

Syracuse used a 13-0 run to build a 43-29 halftime lead. Connecticut's three-point shooting kept it in the game in the first half as it hit 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) from behind the arc. The Huskies were just 1-of-7 from three-point range after intermission.

Senior Kris Joseph led all scorers with 21 points to go along with seven rebounds. Melo finished with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while senior Scoop Jardine recorded seven points, six assists and five rebounds. Waiters had 10 points, helping the Orange to a 26-0 advantage in points off the bench. Fair finished with seven rebounds as Syracuse held a 41-37 advantage on the boards. Drummond led the Huskies with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

The Orange closes out the regular season on Saturday, March 3 when it hosts Louisville in the Carrier Dome at 4 p.m. Syracuse will try to win 30 games in a season for the fifth time in school history.