SU 79, Hawaii 69
SU extended a first-half, 24-18 lead with a 7-0 run put together by a Damone Brown dunk, a layup from Allen Griffin, and Billy Celuck’s basket and free throw.
A pesky Rainbows club tallied 11 of the last 15 points prior to the half to cut the Orange advantage to six.
After Hawaii narrowed the gap to four with two free throws to start the second half, Syracuse answered with two baskets from Brown and five markers from Preston Shumpert, the last a three-pointer that put SU up 44-31. The Orangemen maintained a comfortable margin for the remainder of the contest. Hawaii was unable to get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Brown contributed his 16th double-double of the campaign with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Shumpert ended up with 18 points and Griffin had 15 points and six assists, while committing just one turnover in the victory.
The win improved Syracuse’s first-round record under Boeheim to 18-3. It was the 32nd NCAA tournament triumph for the veteran mentor.
