Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski
Veterans Continue to Step Up
1/13/2015 11:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cooney and Christmas step up to continue win streak
As has been so often the case for Syracuse this season, when the Orange needed a basket in Tuesday's 86-83 win over Wake Forest, one of the veteran combination of Trevor Cooney and Rakeem Christmas were there to provide the spark.
Cooney and Christmas combined for 56 of the team's 86 points, including scoring 18 of the team's final 28, with Michael Gbinije contributing the other 10, to cap the Orange's comeback. The trio single-handedly erased a two-possession deficit in the closing moments and put the Demon Deacons away in overtime to stay perfect in ACC play.
"I thought it was a tremendous, tremendous win," said head coach Jim Boeheim. "Those three guys, Mike, Trevor and Rak, were outstanding today. Outstanding. It really was great win."
The veterans stepping up is nothing new to 'Cuse, as Syracuse is 10-2 in games which Cooney and Christmas each score in double figures, while sitting at just 3-2 in games which at least one doesn't reach the 10-point plateau.
Christmas posted a career-high 35 points – the most points of any ACC player in a single game this season -- and Cooney added 21, improving their combined average over the Orange's seven-game win streak to 38.4 points per game.
The game was the latest strong outing from Christmas who's averaging over 20 points and 9.6 rebounds during the winning streak.
Christmas' success this season doesn't surprise his teammates.
"I think we all saw it in the offseason. He had a different attitude and a different swagger about himself when he came back," Cooney said of Christmas. "He's really just taken on that leadership role and he's been unbelievable. I think we saw that from the very beginning when practice started. He's demanding the ball and when he gets position we're going to give it to him."
Down the stretch for the Orange, Cooney and Christmas erased a four point deficit as part of combining for 8-of-10 points, highlighted by a Cooney step-back 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 65. Syracuse would never trail the rest of the way.
Cooney's shooting has been a big part of the Syracuse run as he's shooting 44-percent from long range during the win streak.
"They're just going in," Cooney said. "There's no button you hit and it just magically goes in. I'm taking good shots and they're going in, so I just need to keep being aggressive and keep doing what I'm doing."
Cooney and Christmas each played a full-45 minutes in the contest.
The group's next chance to continue their run will come on Saturday at Clemson. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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Cooney and Christmas combined for 56 of the team's 86 points, including scoring 18 of the team's final 28, with Michael Gbinije contributing the other 10, to cap the Orange's comeback. The trio single-handedly erased a two-possession deficit in the closing moments and put the Demon Deacons away in overtime to stay perfect in ACC play.
"I thought it was a tremendous, tremendous win," said head coach Jim Boeheim. "Those three guys, Mike, Trevor and Rak, were outstanding today. Outstanding. It really was great win."
The veterans stepping up is nothing new to 'Cuse, as Syracuse is 10-2 in games which Cooney and Christmas each score in double figures, while sitting at just 3-2 in games which at least one doesn't reach the 10-point plateau.
Christmas posted a career-high 35 points – the most points of any ACC player in a single game this season -- and Cooney added 21, improving their combined average over the Orange's seven-game win streak to 38.4 points per game.
The game was the latest strong outing from Christmas who's averaging over 20 points and 9.6 rebounds during the winning streak.
Christmas' success this season doesn't surprise his teammates.
"I think we all saw it in the offseason. He had a different attitude and a different swagger about himself when he came back," Cooney said of Christmas. "He's really just taken on that leadership role and he's been unbelievable. I think we saw that from the very beginning when practice started. He's demanding the ball and when he gets position we're going to give it to him."
Down the stretch for the Orange, Cooney and Christmas erased a four point deficit as part of combining for 8-of-10 points, highlighted by a Cooney step-back 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 65. Syracuse would never trail the rest of the way.
Cooney's shooting has been a big part of the Syracuse run as he's shooting 44-percent from long range during the win streak.
"They're just going in," Cooney said. "There's no button you hit and it just magically goes in. I'm taking good shots and they're going in, so I just need to keep being aggressive and keep doing what I'm doing."
Cooney and Christmas each played a full-45 minutes in the contest.
The group's next chance to continue their run will come on Saturday at Clemson. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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