White III, Battle Push Orange Past North Florida

Saturday, December 3

4:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(5-2)

North Florida

(3-7)

North Florida

Syracuse

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

White III, Battle Push Orange Past North Florida

12/3/2016 6:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Syracuse outlasts late Osprey momentum

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A season-high 26-point performance from Andrew White III paced the Orange offense as #22/24 Syracuse (5-2) defeated North Florida (3-7), 77-71, on Saturday afternoon, for its fifth-straight home win of the season at the Carrier Dome.

White III scored in double-digit points for the seventh-straight game, while three other Orange players joined the graduate transfer in the scoring brigade. In his first-career start for the Orange, freshman Tyus Battle tallied a season-high 19 points. Graduate student DaJuan Coleman set a career-high mark with 15 points from his point position. Sophomore Frank Howard rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points and added career-bests for assists (13) and rebounds (five).

White III made a season- and team-high seven 3-pointers, shooting 53.8 percent (7-13) from behind the arc. The Orange shot 54.2 percent (13-24) from the 3-point line.

White III continued a pattern of strong starts by converting back-to-back 3-pointers to open the scoring for the Orange. With Syracuse clinging to an early 6-5 advantage, the hosts went on an 11-2 run, a stretch keyed by 3-pointers from Battle and White III. A dunk from Tyler Lydon off an open-court pass from John Gillon put the Orange ahead, 20-9, with 10:39 left in the opening period.

A scoring drought followed -- the Orange went almost seven minutes without a point. Fortunately, the Syracuse defense held North Florida at bay during the cold streak. The Orange scored 14 of the last 21 points of the half, including two 3-pointers from White III and one each from Howard and Lydon, to own a 34-23 advantage after the break.

White III had almost equaled his scoring average with 15 points by the intermission.

Syracuse extended its lead following halftime, producing a 12-2 run that included a streak-starting dunk from Battle and a 3-pointer from the freshman to complete the hot stretch. Another 3-pointer from Battle pushed the Syracuse margin to a game-high 24 points at 56-32, with 12:07 left in the contest.

The Ospreys, led by Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Player of the year Dallas Moore, charged back into the contest. Moore contributed 16 points in an eight-minute stretch as North Florida shaved the Syracuse lead to eight points, 66-58, with 4;29 left in the game. Coleman scored on back-to-back possessions to push the margin to 10 points again, but four points from Romelo Banks and another 3-pointer from Moore had North Florida within five, 73-68, with 1:08 remaining. Three free throws from Howard secured the victory for the Orange.

Syracuse was 14-of-23 (.609) from the field in the second half and made 5-of-9 (.556) 3-pointers over the final 20 minutes.

The Orange face a quick turnaround as they head to Madison Square Garden in New York City to take on rival Connecticut on Monday, December 5. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.