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No. 4 Syracuse Vs. DePaul: Blue Demons Try To Upset The Big East
Rosemont, IL (Sports Network) - Scoop Jardine’s layup with under four minutes to play gave No. 4 Syracuse its first lead of the game after trailing by 18, and the Orange held off a pesky DePaul squad down the stretch to post a 59-57 road win.
Wesley Johnson totaled 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Orange (21-1, 8-1 Big East), who were coming off an impressive 17-point victory over Georgetown. Kris Joseph added 15 points and Rick Jackson scored 10 with eight boards.
Will Walker went for a game-high 21 points for the Blue Demons (8-13, 1-8), who can count only a one-point triumph over Marquette as their lone victory in the last 10 games. Mike Stovall and Mac Koshwal each had nine points.
Down 52-43 with a little more than seven minutes remaining, Syracuse went on a 16-2 run to claim victory. Joseph, Andy Rautins and Jardine each hit a three for the visitors, and Johnson's dunk tied it at 54 with 4:13 left.
Jardine followed with a layup for the Orange’s first lead, and a Joseph layup with under three minutes left made it a 58-54 game.
Eric Wallace missed both of his free throws moments later for DePaul, which couldn't get a Krys Faber putback to fall on its next turn. However, Stovall got the offensive board and kicked it back out to Walker, who buried a three with 1:08 to go for a 59-57 difference.
Rautins missed on a three-pointer for Syracuse, and with DePaul out of timeouts, the Demons stormed the other way with a chance for the win or tie.
Walker's deep three was off the mark with less than 10 seconds left. Jeremiah Kelly, though, got the rebound and fed Koshwal underneath the basket, but the clock expired just as Koshwal went up with the ball.
A 9-0 run through the middle stages of the first half saw DePaul build a 33-15 lead with under nine minutes left. But the Orange were quickly back in the game, ripping off the next 16 points, as Jackson’s jumper inside the final two minutes made it a 33-31 affair.
DePaul led 35-31 at the break and was up seven in short order early in the second half. Johnson hit a jumper and added a dunk minutes later to bring Syracuse within 40-39 less than five minutes in.
But the Blue Demons wouldn’t relinquish the lead, and a pair of long distance makes from Walker and Kelly moved the margin back to seven. DePaul continued to hold down the lead, as Koshwal’s layup with close to 7 1/2 minutes left dropped for a 52-43 lead.
DePaul shot just 31.8 percent in the second half and wound up shooting 40.7 percent for the game...Syracuse shot 42.1 percent from the floor...Rautins was just 2-of-10 shooting with each of his attempts coming from three-point range...Jardine ended with five points and five assists...Faber and Kelly had eight points apiece, with Faber also grabbing eight rebounds in the loss...DePaul got just two points from its bench.
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