'Cuse Defeats Montana State, 82-60

Tuesday, December 22

Syracuse, NY

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(9-3)

Montana State

(5-7)

Montana State

Syracuse

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

12/22/2015 9:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse men's basketball team used a balanced scoring approach to cruise past Montana State 82-60 on Tuesday evening at the Carrier Dome. 10 Orange put numbers in the scoring column in the win, with five players finishing in double-digits. The Orange improve to 9-3 on the season, while the Bobcats fall to 5-7.

Grad student Michael Gbinije led both teams in scoring, ending the night with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, while adding five rebounds and five assists. Grad student Trevor Cooney also dished out five assists, finishing the win with 12 points and three buckets from beyond the arc.

Senior DaJuan Coleman finished just one point shy of his career-high, as the center racked up 13 points while shooting a perfect 100 percent from field goal range (5-5) and from the charity stripe (3-3).

Junior Chinonso Obokoh also came up big from underneath, pulling down a career-high six rebounds and sinking a career-high 11 points. Freshman Tyler Lydon grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while adding four blocks and 10 points on the evening.

Syracuse jumped out to a 17-5 lead less than eight minutes into the contest, thanks to a 10-0 run fueled by three's from Cooney and Gbinije. The Orange defense stepped up, allowing the Bobcats just seven points in the last ten minutes of the opening half while racking up a total of eight blocked shots. A pair of Tyler Roberson free throws brought Syracuse its largest lead of the half, as the Orange posted a 14-point lead heading into halftime, 31-17.

The Orange lit a fire heading towards the 12-minute mark in the second half, dishing out eight unanswered points in less than a minute to extend the Syracuse lead to 24 and forcing a Montana State timeout at the 12:22 mark, 58-34.

Syracuse stretched its lead to 26 thanks to back-to-back dunks by Obokoh and sophomore Kaleb Joseph at the 6:37 mark to create a 68-42 lead. Montana State gave one final push with just under two minutes left to play taking off on a 10-0 run, but it wasn't enough as Syracuse came out on top with a 22-point lead as the clock expired, 82-60.

Syracuse takes on Texas Southern at the Carrier Dome on Sunday, Dec. 27 at 2 p.m. in its final non-conference game of the season. Tickets are available online, by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B).