Second-Half Surge Sends Orange Past Flyers, 70-51

Friday, March 18

St. Louis

12:15 p.m.

Syracuse University

20-13

Dayton

25-8

Syracuse

Dayton

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

Second-Half Surge Sends Orange Past Flyers, 70-51

3/18/2016 2:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Syracuse holds Dayton to a season-low 51 points.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - A second-half surge by the No. 10 seed Syracuse (20-13) helped the Orange knock off the No. 7 seed Dayton (25-8), 70-51, on Friday afternoon at the Scottrade Center in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Orange will face No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee State in the second round on Sunday in St. Louis. The Blue Raiders upset No. 2 seed Michigan State, 90-81.

Syracuse broke open a tight game by outscoring the Flyers 25-5 in the first 13 minutes of the second half to create a 56-33 lead heading into the final seven minutes. The Orange held off Dayton the rest of the way and improved the program's NCAA on-court tournament record to 62-37.

The Syracuse defense was a huge aid in the victory, as the Orange held the Flyers to a season-low 51 points while outrebounding Dayton 48-28. Junior Tyler Roberson led the board effort, registering 18 rebounds, his second-highest effort in his career. Roberson's total was just one shy of the school record for rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game, a mark set by Derrick Coleman in the 1987 championship game against Indiana. Roberson added 10 points for his sixth double-double of the season.

Freshman Malachi Richardson paced the Orange offense, racking up 21 points, a total which included three 3-pointers and an 8-of-9 effort from the charity stripe. Freshman Tyler Lydon added 14 points, grad student Trevor Cooney finished with 13 points, and grad student Michael Gbinije added 10 points and a team-high four assists.

The Orange and the Flyers traded buckets to open the contest, holding each other under 10 points until the 12:15 mark, when back-to-back three's by Dayton made it 12-8. A 3-point basket by Richardson brought Syracuse its first lead of the game at the 9:42 mark, 16-15.

The two teams continued to battle back and forth, holding each other scoreless for three minutes before a take to the rim by freshman Tyler Lydon knotted it at 20 apiece with just under six minutes left. Lydon drained a subsequent three to make it 23-20, but the Flyers answered right back with a trey in the next possession with 3:53 left in the opening half.

The Orange began to find its rhythm in the closing minutes of the half, as a dunk by Roberson and Gbinije's first three of the game gave Syracuse a five-point advantage, 28-23, at the 3:11 mark. Dayton, however, didn't let up, as a 3-pointer by Scoochie Smith evened the score out at 28 with 1:21 left.

A layup by DaJuan Coleman with 33 seconds left put the Orange on top at the half, 30-28.

Syracuse started the first five minutes of the second half on an 8-1 run to take a 10-point lead 39-29, and forcing a Dayton timeout. The Orange continued to surge in the first 10 minutes, as back-to-back threes from Cooney and Richardson brought Syracuse a 45-31 lead at the 13:55 mark.

Lydon extended the lead to 17 with a jumper just under the 10-minute mark, 50-33. Cooney's second 3-pointer of the day came in the ensuing possession, bringing the Orange a 20-point lead and triggering a Flyer timeout with 8:57 left in the contest.

The Orange held the Flyers to just five points in the first 13 minutes of the latter half, as the Flyers ended a six-and-a-half minute scoring drought right at the seven-minute mark with a layup by Kyle Davis, 56-35.

A pair a free throws from Richardson gave the Orange a 19-point advantage with 4:23 left to play, 58-39. Roberson registered his double-double off of a big dunk with just over two minutes left, 64-48. Flyer Charles Cooke gave one last attempt with a jumper and a free throw, pushing Dayton over the 50-point mark 28 seconds on the board.

Syracuse fans can put a deposit down on season tickets for the 2016-17 campaign by using this link: https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/syracuse/EN/buy/details/16BBDEPO