Fayeteville, Ark. – The #6/5 Orange (5-0) knocked off Arkansas (3-3), for its 47th consecutive regular season non-conference victory. The Orange put an end to the Razorback's 25-game non-conference winning streak at home with a 91-82 triumph in the SEC/BIG EAST Challenge in Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday evening.
Senior James Southerland led the Orange offense with a career-high 35 points, shooting 12-of-17 from the field and 9-of-13 in three point shooting. His nine threes ties Gerry McNamara and Andy Rautins for the most threes in a game in SU history. He is the first Orange player to score more than 30 points in a game, as Wes Johnson had 31 points against Gonzaga in 2010.
Senior Brandon Triche totaled 17 points and four steals while sophomore Michael Carter-Williams had a double-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Sophomore C.J. Fair recorded 12 points and four rebounds.
Trailing the Razorbacks 7-10, the Orange responded with a 10-0 unanswered run in the first half, led by Southerland, who had two threes for six points during the streak, to regain a seven point advantage with 14:22 remaining in the opening frame.
Southerland hit his fifth three-pointer of the opening frame to give SU a 15 point lead, its largest of the half at 30-15, just 10 minutes into the game.
Syraucse held Arkansas to .387 field goal shooting (24-of-62) and .208 three point shooting (5-of-24), holding a 43-35 rebounding advantage over the Razorbacks.
Losing momentum, Arkansas got within nine points of the Orange at 33-24, following a bucket by BJ Young with 9:13 left in the half. Inching closer, Arkansas made it a five-point game at 33-28, but a free throw from DaJuan Coleman and Southerland's sixth three pointer of the half put the Orange back up 37-28.
The Razorbacks cut it back to five points after a dunk from Young set the score at 41-36, but the Orange stunted the scoring streak as he was called for a technical foul. Southerland responded with two free throws, matching his career-high mark of 22 points to give the Orange a 43-36 lead, before rounding out the opening frame with a 43-38 advantage.
Arkansas jumped within three points of the Orange lead, coming out the locker room with a pair of free throws, making it 43-40. SU responded with a 12-0 run to bring the score back to 57-42, led by Southerland, who hit his seventh and eighth three-balls of the game for six points.
Unable to settle into a rhythm, Arkansas got within five two more times in the second half, leading 59-54, before seniorBrandon Triche helped the Orange storm back, hitting back-to-back three's to give the Orange a 67-56 lead with 10:34 remaining in the final frame.
Pulling away, Southerland hit his ninth three of the game, to give the Orange an 82-70 advantage, before finishing off the Razorbacks, 91-82.
Previously Reported:
(SU ATHLETICS ) - No. 6/5 Syracuse travels to Fayetteville, Ark. to take on Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 30 as part of the SEC/BIG EAST Challenge. The Orange enters the contest with a 4-0 record, while the Razorbacks are 3-2 this season.
The game will be televised by ESPN. Fans can also listen to the game on the Syracuse IMG Radio Network and its flagship TK99 (99.5 FM). The audio stream of the broadcast will be available on Orange All Access on SUathletics.com. Subscriptions to Orange All Access are available at daily, monthly and yearly rates.
SEC/BIG EAST CHALLENGE ROUND TWO Syracuse will compete in the SEC/BIG EAST Challenge for the second consecutive year. Last season the Orange defeated Florida, 72-68, in the Carrier Dome. Senior
Brandon Triche led the Orange with 20 points.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORANGE Syracuse won its 25th consecutive game in the Carrier Dome on Sunday, Nov. 25 with an 87-51 victory against Colgate.
Sophomore
Michael Carter-Williams ran the Orange offense to perfection in the first half. He recorded assists on eight consecutive SU baskets at one point and helped Syracuse to a 38-24 halftime lead.
The second half featured more Orange offense. Syracuse also took advantage of its opportunities from the free throw line where it 20-of-25 attempts after intermission. SU led by as many as 40 points twice before recording its largest margin of victory this season.
Carter-Williams finished with a career-high 13 assists, which tie him for the ninth place on SU's single-game record list. He also had eight points, six rebounds and four steals. Senior
James Southerland led Syracuse with a career-best 18 points, while freshman
DaJuan Coleman also had his most productive day as a member of the Orange with 12 points. Senior
Brandon Triche added 15 points, and sophomore
Rakeem Christmas rounded out SU's double-digit scorers with 10.
SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS Arkansas enters Friday's game with a 3-2 record. The Razorbacks opened the season with three consecutive victories before losing its last two contests to Arizona St. and Wisconsin.
BJ Young leads the Arkansas offense, averaging 20.5 points per game. He is one of two players who average double figures in scoring. The other is Marshawn Powell (12.2 ppg.). Coty Clarke leads the Razorbacks in rebounding, pulling down 6.8 per game.
Mike Anderson is in his second year at the helm of the Arkansas program. Anderson was the head coach at Missouri for five years before returning to the Razorbacks, where he had been a longtime assistant coach.
THE SERIES Friday's game marks just the second meeting between Syracuse and Arkansas. The teams first played each other in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks defeated the Orange in that contest, 96-94 in overtime.
UP NEXT… Syracuse returns to the Carrier Dome to face Eastern Michigan on Monday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.
