National Basketball Association
Miami-Florida 66, Syracuse 62
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 24, 2015
Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York
Officials:
# Tim Clougherty, # John Gaffney, # Michael Stephens
Attendance:
30677
By SportsDirect Inc.
Miami (Fla.) 66, Syracuse 62: Tonye Jekiri recorded 13 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks as the visiting Hurricanes held off a second-half rally by the Orange in ACC play.
Angel Rodriguez contributed 12 points, eight assists and four steals for Miami (14-5, 4-2 ACC), which won for the fourth time in five games. Davon Reed added 11 points for the Hurricanes, who shot 10-of-29 from 3-point range to win despite almost letting a 12-point second-half lead slip away.
Rakeem Christmas led the way with 23 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for Syracuse (14-6, 5-2), which lost for only the second time in 13 games at home. Trevor Cooney had 14 points, but his potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds missed the mark, while Tyler Roberson added 10 points and 14 boards for the Orange.
Miami made four 3-pointers – two by Omar Sherman -- to build a 24-14 lead before going scoreless for more than 6 1/2 minutes and Syracuse clawed back to tie it 26-26 at intermission. Reed drained 3-pointers to start and end a 13-4 burst that opened the second half as the Hurricanes jumped back in front by nine.
The Orange later ran off 17 of the next 24 points – eight by Christmas – to pull within 54-52 on Ron Patterson’s 3-pointer with just under six minutes to go. Christmas’ basket brought Syracuse within 60-59 while Manu Lecomte and Cooney traded 3-pointers on each team’s next possession, but Rodriguez hit two free throws with 11.2 seconds to go before Cooney’s miss.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Miami coach Jim Larranaga improved to 550-375 in 31 seasons at four different schools. … Syracuse was called for only two fouls in the opening 20 minutes and the Hurricanes did not attempt a free throw until early in the second half. … Miami G Sheldon McClellan saw his streak of 15 consecutive double-figure scoring performances end after recording seven points, but had two big dunks late in the second half.
Top Game Performances
Miami-Florida |
|
Syracuse |
Tonye Jekiri 13 |
Scoring |
Rakeem Christmas 23 |
Angel Rodriguez 8 |
Assists |
Trevor Cooney 4 |
Tonye Jekiri 15 |
Rebounds |
Tyler Roberson 14 |
Angel Rodriguez 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Rakeem Christmas 5 |
Angel Rodriguez 4 |
Steals |
Trevor Cooney 3 |
Tonye Jekiri 3 |
Blocks |
Rakeem Christmas 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Miami-Florida
|
66 |
41.1 |
10-29 |
10-14 |
17 |
29 |
3 |
7 |
8 |
Syracuse
|
62 |
44.4 |
6-16 |
8-19 |
16 |
32 |
3 |
6 |
13 |