Ole Miss Downs Syracuse in NIT, 85-80

Saturday, March 18

Syracuse, N.Y.

11 a.m.

Syracuse University

(19-15)

Ole Miss

(22-13)

Ole Miss

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

3/18/2017 1:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange's season came to a close Saturday, March 18 at the Carrier Dome with an 85-80 loss to fifth-seeded Ole Miss in the second round of the 2017 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Syracuse finishes the campaign 19-15. The Rebels improved to 22-13 overall and 12-5 in non-conference competition.

The difference in the game was 3-point shooting. The Rebels were 15-of-32 (.469) from long range, one short of the record for most 3-point field goals made by a Syracuse opponent. By comparison, the Orange were 8-of-30 (.267) from beyond the arc, including 2-for-13 (.154) in the first half.

Graduate student Andrew White III and freshman Taurean Thompson led Syracuse with 18 points apiece. Rookie Tyus Battle scored 17 points – all in the second half – and sophomore Tyler Lydon finished with 15 points, including 14 in the first half. Lydon also contributed a game-high 14 rebounds, one off his personal best, to post his second double-double in as many games.

Terence Davis paced the Rebels with 30 points, tied for the most against the Orange in an NIT game. Davis was 11-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range. Deandre Burnett tallied 19 points, including five 3-pointers. He also dished out nine assists. Reserve Cullen Neal contributed 15 points off the bench and Sebastian Saiz had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Orange struggled to shoot the ball early. Syracuse started the game 8-for-23 from the floor and missed its first nine 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, the Rebels connected on six of their first 10 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, to claim at 17-12 advantage midway through the first half.

Sophomore Frank Howard gave Syracuse the spark it needed to get going. He drilled SU's first trifecta to tie the score at 25-25 with 6:30 left in the half, and scored all seven of his points in a 12-0 run that gave SU a 34-25 advantage with 2:38 to go before intermission.

A layup by Davis at the 2:08 mark stopped the Orange rally. Davis also drained a three 40 seconds later, as the Rebels ended the half with three straight triples to cut the SU lead to 38-36 at the break.

In the second half, Ole Miss continued to hurt the Orange from behind the arc. Davis buried two threes and Burnett made one during a 15-0 run that spanned both halves. The scoring spree erased the deficit and put the visitors up seven, 45-38, less than three minutes into the frame.

The Orange responded with six consecutive points and tied the game at 47-all on a Battle 3-pointer with 14:54 remaining. However, five straight points by Neal put the Rebels back on top, 52-37.

Ole Miss extended the lead to as many as six twice during the next 10 minutes before White III capped an 8-2 Syracuse spurt with a 3-pointer at the 4:14 mark to tie the score, 71-71. Neal and White III traded threes to knot things up again, 74-74, with 3:40 left. However, a 9-4 run by the Rebels that included two more Burnett threes put Ole Miss ahead, 83-78, with 49 seconds to play.

A jumper by Battle with 39 ticks on the clock made it a one-possession game. White III fouled Neal the next time down the floor and Neal sank both free throws to clinch the victory.

The Rebels outrebounded Syracuse, 38-36. They also held a 22-9 advantage in bench points and turned 13 Orange turnovers into 17 points.

Ole Miss hosts the winner of tomorrow's second-round game between Georgia Tech and Belmont in next week's NIT quarterfinals.