'Cuse Comeback Cut Short Against St. Bonaventure

Friday, December 22

7 PM

Syracuse University

St. Bonaventure

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

'Cuse Comeback Cut Short Against St. Bonaventure

12/22/2017 9:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse (10-2) overcame a 13-point second half deficit to force overtime but came up short in a 60-57 setback to St. Bonaventure (10-2) Friday night in the Carrier Dome.

Junior Frank Howard led Syracuse with 17 points, six assists and six rebounds. Freshman Oshae Brissett recorded his sixth double-double on the season with 15 points and 13 boards and sophomore Tyus Battle added 11 points. Freshman Marek Dolezaj finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Jaylen Adams scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half to lead the Bonnies. He finished the game shooting 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from the field, 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from 3-point range and 7-of-7 from the free throw line.

How it was Decided
Adams knocked down two free throws to extend the St. Bonaventure lead to three with six seconds remaining and LaDarien Griffin blocked a last second Syracuse 3-point attempt to seal the win.

Game Summary
St. Bonaventure used a 9-0 run to take an early six point advantage. A jumper from Brissett, layups by Howard and Dolezaj along with two Brissett free throws gave Syracuse a 15-14 lead.

The Orange used four consecutive free throws to go ahead 23-20 with 6:40 remaining in the first half. The Bonnies answered with an 8-0 run off two free throws and back-to-back threes from Adams. St. Bonaventure extended its lead to ten but Howard hit a buzzer-beating trey and Syracuse trailed 40-33 at halftime.

The Bonnies started off the second half on a 9-3 run to open up a 49-36 lead with 12:57 to play. Battle scored four straight points followed by two Orange free throws to trim the deficit to seven.

Four Syracuse free throws and a Howard layup trimmed the St. Bonaventure lead to 53-50 with 4:33 to go. Paschal Chukwu converted a 3-point play to tie the game at 53 with 1:18 remaining and the teams were scoreless over the remainder of regulation, resulting in overtime.

The Orange grabbed three offensive on their first possession of overtime and Dolezaj capped it off with a layup. The Bonnies answered with five free throws and retook a 58-55 lead. Brissett made a layup to pull Syracuse back within one.

Numbers of Note
A defensive battle resulted in each team shooting under 35 percent from the field. St. Bonaventure finished the game 18-of-55 (32.7 percent) and Syracuse shot 18-of-60 (30.0 percent). The Orange held a 49-39 advantage in rebounding, including a 16-8 edge on the offensive glass.

Syracuse held the Bonnies to two points over the final 11:45 of the second half during on its way to tying the game at 53.

St. Bonaventure outshot Syracuse from the 3-point line and charity stripe. The Bonnies were 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) beyond the arc and 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) from the foul line. The Orange finished 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) and 18-of-28 (64.3 percent) in those respective categories.

What's Next
Syracuse returns home on Wednesday, Dec. 27 to host Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. Tickets for all Orange home games are available online at Cuse.com, by phone at 1-888-DOMETIX or in person at Gate B at the Carrier Dome.