Dec

SU struggles past St. Bonaventure

Kareem Obeid 12/21/09

Syracuse and St. Bonaventure have a long history of head-to-head basketball meetings that dates back to 1923-24. The two teams have played one another 26 times, with SU owning a 23-3 overall advantage, including 13 consecutive victories.
In the Carrier Dome Saturday evening the no. 5-ranked Orange, knowing that every game they play can be a compelling challenge, got one from the Bonnies, who did not appear to be overmatched by 10-0 Syracuse.
Only in the second half did SU reassert its dominance, posting a 15-4 run that made the primary difference in a hard-fought 85-72 win.
The Orange’s recipe for success in front 20, 568 fans was a pair of clutch 3-pointers by Andy Rautins and Brandon Triche in the midst of that 15-4 run. In addition, Syracuse held the Bonnies to 22.2 percent (6-for-27) shooting from beyond the arc.
SU displayed balanced scoring, with four players reaching double figures. Rick Jackson led all scorers, delivering his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jackson was 8-for-11 from the field, adding three blocks and three steals.
Kris Joseph contributed a season-high 17 points and seven rebounds. Wesley Johnson pitched in with 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Rautins, who had a major role in the outcome, added 11 points and five assists. This came despite just scoring five points in the first 30 minutes of the contest. A persistent Rautins eventually broke out of his shooting slump.
“If you miss a couple of shots it’s not going to stop you from taking a couple more open looks,” Rautins said.
In the first half, it was tightly contested battle, despite SU getting a 20-13 lead at one point. The Orange established a dominant interior presence in the paint, with Jackson and Joseph scoring 14 out of the 20 points.
But the feisty Bonnies kept pace with SU, catching up when 6-9 center lanky Andrew Nicholson erupted with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field.
For a brief moment, SU increased the margin to 26-20 with 4:23 remaining in the half. Answering quickly, Bonnies guard Chris Matthews nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to deadlock it at 26-26, much to the delight of the vociferous St. Bonaventure contingent.
St. Bonaventure took their first lead 33-30 on another Mathews third three pointer. Not accustomed to playing from behind, SU responded and seized a 39-35 lead at intermission. To this point, the game featured six ties and three lead changes.
To some degree, SU was fortunate to have a tenuous advantage, because they were outplayed, and the Orange’s fast-break was held in check generating a season-low four points. Also, the Bonnies staggered SU by producing 14 points off turnovers. Despite being among the nation’s leaders in scoring, field goal percentage, and assists, SU remained lethargic, though it had a lot to do with St. Bonaventure’s man-to-man defense than anything else.
In the second half, though, SU used that 15-4 run to develop a good cushion. Johnson hit four field goals, and the big 3-pointers from Rautins built the margin to 79-o63.
“The game was going back and forth, like a dogfight,” Johnson said. “Then Brandon came up and hit a three. Then Andy came up and hit a three. That got the fans into it and got us going. That really gave us the spark we needed.”
By the 8:27 mark, St. Bonaventure had trimmed that lead to nine points, but hurt itself with the ejection of Andrew Nicholson, who exited the court scoring 18 points. The referees ruled that Nicholson dangerously lowered his head into the groin of Rautins. The play resulted in a flagrant foul, and Nicholson was out.
“I thought it was cheap shot,” Rautins said. “He hit me two plays before that. I let that one slide. After I hit the shot he came down on me and hit me square in that region.”
Through all this, Arinze Onuaku was injured and did not play the entire half. But SU got stellar contributions from the bench, as Kris Joseph and Scoops Jardine energized the offense with 25 total points, allowing SU to move to 11-0 on the season.

SU struggles past St. Bonaventure

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