Tulane University
Syracuse
First Half Surge Lifts No. 1 Syracuse over Green Wave
Dec 22, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2011
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A 19-0 run to close the first half sparked No. 1 Syracuse to an, 80-61, victory over Tulane on Thursday night at the Carrier Dome in the final game before the holiday break.
The Green Wave (11-2) led on three occasions in the opening half and there were five ties, including 14-14 with 10:25 remaining, but the Orange (13-0) took the lead for good on a jumper by C.J. Fair seconds later.
Syracuse built a six-point lead over the next few minutes before a Kendall Timmons 3-pointer cut Tulane's deficit to 22-19 with seven minutes left. Those would be the last points scored in the half for the Green Wave as SU rattled off 19 straight to close the half and take a 41-19 lead into the locker room.
"There was a 10 minute stretch in the first half when Syracuse showed why they are the No. 1 team in the country," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "But, throughout the other 30 minutes of the game this Tulane team showed why this season goes until April and why this team has a chance to be reckoned with through January, February and March."
Timmons led the Green Wave with a game-high 16 points and added a game-high eight rebounds. Ricky Tarrant scored 15 points and Jordan Callahan added 10. Tre Drye chipped in with seven points and five rebounds off the bench and Malte Zeigenhagen had six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
The Green Wave was playing without 7-0 Tomas Bruha who was out with a knee injury suffered in practice on Tuesday.
Syracuse's largest lead of the game, 23, came after the first point was scored in the second half on a free throw by Rakeem Christmas. Tulane was able to cut the deficit to 15 once in the second half, 51-36, after a free throw by Timmons with 12:12 remaining.
The Orange played 18 players in the game and their bench posted 45 points, including a team-high 15 from Dion Waiters and 10 from James Southerland.
"We are not into moral victories," Conroy said. "We came up here to get the win; however, I'm really, really proud of our guys. We did a few things that have not been done to this Syracuse team this season. There were several things that showed great signs for the second half of the season."
Tulane won the battle of the board, 35-30, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second chance points. Syracuse's defense forced 14 turnovers that led to 18 points and held the Green Wave to just 34.0 percent shooting from the floor. The Orange hit 51.0 percent of its shots, including 10 of 21 from 3-point range.
The Green Wave take nine days off for the holidays before returning to the court on Jan. 31 to face UT-Pan American in Edinberg, Texas, for a 1 p.m. CT tip.
GAME NOTES - Tulane wore blue uniforms for the first time since the 1985 season.
- Kevin Thomas started for the first time this season and the third game of his career.
- Ricky Tarrant recorded his ninth double figure scoring game of this season with his 15 points tonight.
- Kendall Timmons scored in double figures for the ninth game this season and the 51st game of his career with his 16 points tonight.
- Jordan Callahan reached double figures in scoring tonight for the eighth game of the season and the 38th game of his career with his 10 points.
- Tulane is now 0-3 against the nation's No. 1 ranked team.
