Dec. 1, 2007

Box Score

Tulane-Syracuse Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Junior Daniel Puckett came off the bench to score 17 points, but Syracuse countered with four players in double figures and used its size advantage to dominate the boards on both ends of the floor in a 73-60 Orange victory in front of 21,173 at the Carrier Dome.

Tulane (3-3) suffered its third straight loss since opening the year with a 3-0 mark, but gave Syracuse (5-2) all it could handle for much of the ball game. The Green Wave erased double-digit leads in both halves, but came up short in the end.

Syracuse held a seven point lead heading into the second half and the Green Wave had possession of the ball to open the period, and promptly cut the deficit to five points on two free throws by sophomore Kevin Sims. The two teams traded baskets and Tulane remained within striking distance until Jonny Flynn jumper jumpstarted a 6-0 spurt that put the Orange up by 11 points at the 15:17 mark.

Seniors Donnavan Stith and Matt Wheaton put an end to the run when Stith hit a lay-up in the paint and Wheaton drained his second three-pointer of the game, and all of the sudden Syracuse was clinging to a six point advantage.

However, the Orange broke the game open once again with an 11-5 run that extended the home team's lead to 12 points on a Flynn lay-up at the midway point of the second half. But, as it had all game, Syracuse found a way to shoot itself in the foot, and this time it was with a pair of technical fouls.

Flynn was whistled for a foul and responded with a choice word in front of the official and was instantly assessed a technical foul. Sims canned both shots and minutes later Orange coach Jim Boeheim was handed a technical foul. Puckett, who had made one free throw prior to the technical foul, stepped aside while Sims chalked up two more charity shots, and then Puckett converted his second free throw to pull Tulane back to within six points.

But despite the TU comeback, Syracuse shut the door on any upset attempt by reeling off 15-4 run over the next four minutes to put the game away. Tulane managed to scrape back to within 10 points but never got any closer.

"This is another very disappointing loss for us," Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson said. "When we scheduled this road trip back in June we thought it would be a good one us. But after losing at Buffalo and getting beat by Syracuse, it is very difficult for our program. But thank goodness it is only December 1 and not February 1, so we have time to get better and I think we learned a lot about our team and can begin getting better. Syracuse is a good team with some of the best talent in the country and 20 offensive rebounds is very difficult to overcome. They did what they had to do to win this game. But, I'm very, very proud of our players and the program for bouncing back after the Buffalo loss and giving ourselves a chance to win the game tonight."

Along with the 20 offensive rebounds surrendered to the Orange, Tulane suffered 17 turnovers and shot just 34.5 percent from the field, and was out-rebounded 47-33. However, the Wave connected on all 15 free throw attempts and registered nine steals, including a career-best six takeaways by Sims, who also added 11 points and four assists. Junior Robinson Louisme was the third Green Wave player to reach double figures with 10 points.

The last time a Tulane team finished perfect from the free-throw line in a game was on Jan. 7, 1998, against Saint Louis (10-10).

Flynn led the Orange with 17 points, while Eric Devendorf chipped in 16 points on 15 field goal attempts. Paul Harris and Arinze Onuaku each tallied a double-double. Harris finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Onuaku registered 14 points and 16 boards. Donte Green was held below his double figure scoring average but contributed 11 rebounds.

Tulane stumbled out of the gates, missing its first five field goal attempts, and trailed 11-0 by the time Puckett snapped the run and put the Green Wave on the board with a driving lay-up at the 14:49 minute mark. Once Tulane found the scoring column for the first time, the Green Wave fought back and played its way back into the game.

Puckett followed up his first basket of the game with a three-pointer and sparked a 7-0 run that pulled TU to within four points, 11-7. Harris was everywhere for Syracuse in the first half and his put-back snapped the Wave's run and extended the lead to 13-7.

Louisme hit a jumper in the paint to keep Tulane close and cut the Orange's lead to four points once again. However, the Syracuse front line grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and kept TU from gaining ground. The Orange put together a 12-3 run and grabbed its largest lead of the first half of 14 points when Harris hit a lay-up for two of his 10 first half points.

Facing a double digit deficit, TU responded once again by scoring the final seven points of the half. Louisme hit a lay-up and Puckett, who tallied 10 points to lead Tulane in the first half, nailed his second trey of the period, and then nailed a short jumper to bring the Wave to within seven points, 28-21, at intermission.