'Cuse Knocks off #18/21 UConn, 79-76

Thursday, November 26

Paradise Island, Bahamas

3:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

5-0

Connecticut

4-1

Syracuse

UConn

11/26/2015 6:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Syracuse used a 10-0 second half run to take control of a tight game, knocking off #18/21 UConn, 79-76, in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thanksgiving Day. The Orange improve to 5-0 on the season, while the Huskies slip to 4-1.

All five of the Orange's starters racked up double-digit points, as grad students Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney paced the Orange with 17 points each. Freshman Tyler Lydon came up big on the boards, pulling down 12 rebounds while adding 16 points. Junior Tyler Roberson and freshman Malachi Richardson posted 14 and 13 points, respectively.

UConn jumped out to a 10 point lead in the opening minutes of the first half, going 7-10 from the field to establish a 19-9 lead seven minutes in. The Orange, however, fought back, outscoring the Huskies 14-6 to cut the UConn lead down to one, 25-24, thanks to a pair of free throws by Lydon. Another basket by Lydon with four minutes left in the opening half knotted the game up at 27 all, resulting in a Huskies timeout.

The Orange defense limited the Huskies to 4-15 from the field the rest of the half, and a three by Gbinije brought the Orange its first lead of the game with 1:36 remaining. A subsequent Gbinije layup off of a UConn turnover extended the Syracuse lead 34-31 with just over a minute left, but a 3-pointer by UConn's Omar Calhoun tied it at 34 heading into halftime.

The two teams swapped points in the first few minutes of the second half, but hot shooting from the Orange off of three's by Lydon, Richardson, and Gbinije within a span of one minute brought Syracuse a 50-47 lead at the 12:52 mark, forcing a UConn timeout.

Another three by Richardson marked a 10-0 run by the Orange, bringing Syracuse a 54-47 lead at the 11:30 mark. The Syracuse momentum continued to build, as a steal and a layup by Gbinije and a successive alley-oop from Gbinije to Roberson established a 10-point lead for the Orange with 7:47 left, 65-55, forcing another UConn timeout.

A 3-point shootout between the Orange and the Huskies ensued in the final minutes of the half, with UConn's Rodney Purvis striking down three 3-pointers to cut the Syracuse lead down to two, 73-71 just under the four minute mark, triggering an Orange timeout. A late three by the Huskies brought UConn within three of the Orange in the final 30 seconds, but Syracuse was able to hold its own as the clock expired, 79-76.

Syracuse takes on Texas A&M on Friday, Nov. 27 a 3 p.m. in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.