Syracuse downs South Florida to remain unbeaten in Big East play
Syracuse remained perfect in conference play early this season, improving to 12-3 and 2-0 in Big East action with an 89-77 win over South Florida on Saturday. The Orange had five players in double figures, led by Donte Greene with a team-high 21 points. Double-doubles from Paul Harris Arinze Onuaku also helped Syracuse past South Florida.
Harris had 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Onuaku added 16 points and 12 boards. Freshman point guard Jonny Flynn chipped in with 12 points and Scoop Jardine finished with 14 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. The Orange have now won six straight games.
South Florida (10-5, 1-1) trailed at halftime 47-33, but a quick 9-2 spurt in the first two minutes to begin the second half brought the Bulls within 9, 49-40. Wisely Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim called timeout and made a defensive adjustment, getting the Orange out of their traditional 2-3 zone defense and switched to man-to-man.
The move worked like a charm, effectively putting an abrupt end to South Florida’s run. Syracuse went on a run of their own, outscoring South Florida 12-2 over the next five and a half minutes, and the Bulls were held without a basket from the field during that stretch. South Florida’s only points during the run were from the foul line, and the Bulls finally made a field goal with just under 13 minutes to play.
The Bulls only trailed by one, 26-25 in the first half of play but over the final eight and a half minutes of the first half, Syracuse outscored South Florida 21-8, taking a 14-point lead into halftime. South Florida didn’t help themselves by only shooting 61.9 percent from the line and they were pounded on the glass by the Orange, 53-36.
Dominique Jones led South Florida with 23 points and Chris Howard had 19. Kentrell Gransberry added a double-double, scoring 14 and pulling down 13 boards. South Florida is still searching for their first road win in the Big East since they joined the conference three years ago.
Syracuse will travel to Cincinnati on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and South Florida will also be back on the hardwood on Wednesday when they return home to take on Pittsburgh at 7:30 p.m.
Tags: Big East Basketball, NCAA Men's basketball, South Florida Bulls, Syracuse Orange