Wes Johnson had 19 points, Kris Joseph added 15 in the second half,
and No. 7 Syracuse beat Memphis 74-57 on Wednesday night.
It was the final nonconference game of the season for
Syracuse (14-1), which was coming off an 82-72 home loss to
Pittsburgh. The first-ever game in the Carrier Dome for Memphis
(10-4) was one the Tigers would like to forget.
Roburt Sallie led Memphis with 17 points but fouled out in
the closing minutes, Wesley Witherspoon had 12, and Elliot Williams
finished with a season-low 10. Williams, averaging nearly 20
points, had only one basket in the decisive second half, and his
missed dunk helped spur the Orange.
Trailing by three points early in the second half, Williams
missed a wide-open slam and Syracuse scored nine of the next 10
points to pull away.
Andy Rautins had 11 points and seven assists, and Rick
Jackson and Arinze Onuaku each had 10 points for Syracuse, which
limited Memphis to 2-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc in the
second half after getting burned for seven 3s in the first.
Tied 32-all at halftime, Rautins and Brandon Triche both hit
3s and Johnson had a one-handed dunk after Jackson corralled the
second of two missed free throws by Onuaku to give Syracuse a 40-35
lead with 16:38 left.
A reverse layup by Williams and a follow by Witherspoon
brought Memphis within a point.
Johnson's layup gave the Orange a three-point lead, but when
Rautins threw the ball away on Syracuse's next possession, Williams
sailed down court alone, ready to cut the lead back to one.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, irate at the turnover, ripped off
his sports jacket in disgust, threw it down and turned away toward
the bench. He missed the turning point of the game.
Williams, who began the game with a resounding two-handed
slam dunk, hit the back of the rim as he tried another and watched
as the ball sailed high above the backboard and then harmlessly to
the court.
Syracuse responded by scoring nine of the next 10 points to
take an 11-point lead. A scoop in the lane by Johnson and a basket
from the left corner by Rautins gave the Orange a 51-40 lead with
11:07 left and the Tigers never got closer than eight again.
The last time the teams met the Tigers attempted 33
3-pointers and made seven, missing 18 of 19 at one point in a 72-65
loss at FedExForum in December 2008. But Sallie was 4 of 4 from
beyond the arc in a seesaw opening half as Memphis went 7 of 15
from long range, repeatedly passing the ball around patiently
looking for the open man against the zone. The Tigers held the
biggest lead of the half at 12-5 after Witherspoon's turnaround
jumper from the foul line just over 6 minutes in.
Syracuse, just 1 of 13 from beyond the arc in its loss to
Pitt, responded with a 10-2 spurt, keyed by its resurgent outside
shooting. Scoop Jardine hit a 3 from the top of the key, then stole
the ball from Williams and passed to Rautins on the right wing, and
he swished another.
After a 3 by Sallie gave Memphis a 32-27 lead with 1:40 left,
Syracuse tied it on a dunk by Onuaku and a 3 from the left wing by
Rautins with 3.8 seconds left.
