Orange's Late Comeback Not Enough at Marquette

Monday, February 25

Milwaukee, Wis.

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

22-6, 10-5BE

#22/22 Marquette

20-7, 11-4BE

Team	1	2	F
Syracuse	32	39	71
Marquette	29	45	74

Junior Baye Moussa Keita led the Orange with eight rebounds against the Golden Eagles.

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

2/25/2013 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score

MILWAUKEE – No. 12/12 Syracuse cut No. 22/22 Marquette's lead to three in the closing seconds of the game but it wasn't enough as the Golden Eagles recorded a 74-71 victory on Monday, Feb. 25. The Orange is now 22-6 overall, 10-5 in the BIG EAST, while Marquette goes to 20-7, 11-4 in conference play.

Junior C.J. Fair led Syracuse with 20 points as he reached double figures in scoring for the 18th consecutive game. Senior James Southerland added 15 points off the bench, while sophomore Michael Carter-Williams finished with 14 points. Junior Baye Moussa Keita led the Orange on the boards with eight rebounds, his highest total in a BIG EAST game this season.

Carter-Williams got the Orange off to a fast start when he scored on a slam dunk on Syracuse's opening possession. He scored five of SU's first seven points as the Orange took an early six-point lead. Jamil Wilson hit Marquette's first field goal 3:50 into the contest, sparking the Golden Eagles on a 7-2 scoring run. Vander Blue capped the run with a three-pointer, which gave Marquette its first lead of the game at 8-7. With the Golden Eagles leading 14-12, the Orange scored 11 straight points over a span of 7:40 to take a 25-14 lead at the 4:21 mark. Fair had six points during the run.

Syracuse led by 10, 29-19, before Marquette recorded eight consecutive points to cut the lead to 29-27 with 1:04 on the clock. Moussa Keita halted the run with a three-point play with 50 seconds remaining in the first half as the Orange led by three, 32-28, heading into the locker room at intermission.

Marquette outscored Syracuse 6-2 to open the second half to regain the lead at 35-34 at the 18:05 mark. The Golden Eagles led 37-36 before senior Brandon Triche scored on a fast break. Southerland followed that basket with back-to-back three-pointers to put the Orange back on top, 44-37, with 14:25 remaining.

With the Orange leading, 53-47, Marquette recorded five consecutive points to cut the deficit to one. Triche briefly halted the run with a jumper, but the Golden Eagles netted the next nine points to take a 61-55 lead with 3:37 to play. Marquette's proficiency at the free throw line kept the Orange from coming back. The Golden Eagles hit 10-of-12 attempts from the charity stripe and led 73-68 with seven seconds remaining.

Syracuse didn't give up, and back-to-back three-pointers by Fair and Carter-Williams cut the lead to 73-71. Blue was fouled on the inbounds pass after Carter-Williams basket, sending him to the free throw line. He missed the first attempt but hit the second to increase the lead to three and give the Orange the ball with just .2 seconds on the clock. Syracuse's long inbounds pass was intercepted giving Marquette its 24th consecutive win at home.

The Golden Eagles hit 29-of-35 attempts from the free throw line compared the Orange's 5-for-7 performance. Davante Gardner led all scorers with 26 points, helping Marquette to a 55-25 advantage in bench points.

The Orange returns to the Carrier Dome to face No. 10/9 Louisville on Saturday, March 2. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m.