Syracuse Falls at #13 Miami, 64-51

Saturday, January 2

Coral Gables, FL

2:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

10-5 (0-2ACC)

Miami

12-1 (1-0ACC)

Syracuse

Miami

1/2/2016 4:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The Syracuse men's basketball team fell short to No. 13/15 Miami 64-51 on Saturday afternoon at the BankUnited Center, despite a strong first half defensive effort from the Orange.

Syracuse (10-5, 0-2) held Miami (12-1, 1-0) to a mere 19.2% (5-26) from the field and 0-11 from the 3-point arc in the first half, but the Hurricanes stepped up in the second half, improving to 50% shooting from the field while adding an 85.7% effort from the free throw line.

Freshman Malachi Richardson came up big for the Orange offensively, tallying a career-high 20 points, including a career-best 5-6 from 3-point range.

Grad student Michael Gbinije posted 10 points while adding six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Junior Tyler Roberson pulled down a game-high 11 boards, while freshman Tyler Lydon added 10 rebounds.

After a slow start for both squads in the first ten minutes of the contest, the Orange began to build a run with an old-fashioned three-point play by Roberson, grabbing a 16-9 lead off of an 11-0 run at the 8:34 mark.

Syracuse continued to light it up, with Richardson registering his third 3-point bucket of the day with 6:53 left to play in the first half, as the Orange racked up 15 unanswered points to extend the lead 20-9.

The Hurricanes began to find its way back in to the game in the closing minutes of the half, but the Orange still came away with a comfortable 25-17 lead heading into halftime. The Orange defense was a force to be reckoned with in the first half, with Roberson leading the effort with nine first-half rebounds.

Miami started off strong in the first four minutes of the second half, embarking on an 8-0 run to cut the Syracuse lead down to one, 27-26. The Hurricanes proceeded to grab the lead at the 14:08 mark off of a quick transition play, 30-29.

From there, Miami hinted at running away with the lead, but the Orange didn't let up, as Richardson's fifth bucket from beyond the arc and a layup by Roberson put the teams at an even score of 41 with just under eight minutes left to play.

The Orange knotted it up once again at 44 with 5:15 left in the half off of a pair of free throws by Lydon, but the Hurricanes took control, sparking a 12-0 run to steal the lead back, 56-44, with 2:46 left to play.

Syracuse continued to put up a fight until the end, but fell short as Miami maintained a 13-point lead as the clock expired, 64-51. The Hurricanes outscored the Orange 20-7 in the last five minutes of the contest.

Syracuse begins a three-game homestand on Tuesday, Jan. 5 when it hosts Clemson at 8 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.