Syracuse trims Cornell, 88-73
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The Associated Press - Published: November 25, 2009
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Freshman guard Brandon Triche scored a season-high 21 points, Andy Rautins added 18 and No. 10 Syracuse beat upstate foe Cornell 88-73 on Tuesday night.
It was the 32nd straight win in the series for Syracuse (5-0), but the Orange didn't settle it until the second half.
Unranked a week ago, the Orange catapulted into the Top 25 after beating then-No. 13 California and then-No. 6 North Carolina by an average score of 91-72. They had a more difficult time early with the Big Red (2-2), who beat Alabama and Massachusetts on the road before losing at home Friday night to Seton Hall.
Chris Wroblewski led Cornell with 20 points, Ryan Wittman had 19, and Jeff Foote 12.
Wes Johnson had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Kris Joseph added 13 points for Syracuse, which won easily despite a subpar game from big men Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson. They each scored seven points, but Onuaku only had one rebound in 19 minutes.
Wittman had a career-high 33 points against Syracuse a year ago, including nine 3s, but he had trouble finding any open looks against the Orange's aggressive zone and finished 3 of 10 from long range.
Syracuse held its first four opponents to 24.1 percent shooting on 3s, but Cornell hit 9 of 19 in the first half, with Wroblewski hitting 5 of 6. He finished with a career-high six 3s, but only one came after the break as the Big Red shot just 22.2 percent (4 of 18) from beyond the arc in the second half and that sealed their fate.
A year ago, Cornell, the two-time defending Ivy League champ, led by as many as 16 in the first half and held a five-point advantage at halftime before falling 88-78. And its patient attack and long-range accuracy kept the Big Red close in this one for a while.
Cornell trailed 42-36 at the half, but Syracuse began the second with a 17-5 spurt, limiting Cornell to just a 3 by Wroblewski and a follow by Foote, to open a 17-point lead.
Triche hit a 3 and converted a three-point play, Rautins hit one of his five 3s, and Jackson added another three-point play to boost the lead to 59-41 at 13:27.
Siena 90, Delaware 56.
ALBANY, N.Y. — Ryan Rossiter scored 22 points and Siena used a strong first half to pull away early from Delaware in a 90-56 win on Tuesday night.
Owen Wignot had 15 points and Alex Franklin added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Saints (3-1). Kyle Downey and Edwin Ubiles each finished with 10 points in the Philly Hoop Group Classic.
Siena held the Blue Hens (1-3) to one field goal for the first 5-plus minutes of the game, taking a 14-2 lead on Franklin's jumper. The Saints pushed their margin to 17 points on Wignot's jumper with 5:16 left in the first half.
Downey's layup with 3:42 left gave Siena an 84-47 lead. The Saints, who shot 48.5 percent from the floor (32-for-66), held Delaware to 38.5 percent (20-for-52).
Jawan Carter led the Blue Hens with 13 points, while D.J. Boney scored 12.
Cincinnati 69, Maryland 57.
LAHAINA, Hawaii — Yancy Gates scored 17 points and added 13 rebounds and Deonta Vaughn had 16 points to lead Cincinnati to the championship game of the Maui Invitational with a 69-57 victory over No. 21 Maryland on Tuesday at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Gates scored 10 of his 17 points during a decisive second-half stretch that put the game out of reach for the Terrapins (4-1), who will play either Wisconsin or Gonzaga for third place on Wednesday, while the Bearcats (4-0) take on the other team in the championship.
Maryland, which went for 6 minutes without scoring in the first half, led by three early. Cincinnati then used a 14-0 run to take a 25-11 advantage.
After the Terps rallied, Dion Dixon capped a 20-4 spurt with a buzzer beater that sent Cincinnati into halftime with a 13-point cushion.
Greivis Vasquez led Maryland with 19 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
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