National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Connecticut 76, Syracuse 71
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, March 11, 2011
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: # James Breeding, # Jeff Clark, # Michael Stephens
Attendance: 19375

Kemba Walker collected 33 points, 12 rebounds, six steals and five assists as No. 19 Connecticut earned a 76-71 overtime victory over No. 11 Syracuse on Friday in the semifinals of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

Alex Oriakhi added 15 points and 11 boards and Jeremy Lamb scored four of his 11 points in overtime for the ninth-seeded Huskies (25-9), who will be going for their seventh Big East tournament title Saturday against Louisville.

Kris Joseph led the Orange (26-7) with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Connecticut is trying to become the first team to win the tournament by having to play five games in as many days.

The Huskies appeared to have control when Oriakhi split a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left to give them a 68-62 edge. But Scoop Jardine banked in a 3-pointer five seconds later and Shabazz Napier missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the fourth-seeded Orange a chance to tie.

Syracuse worked it again to Jardine, who buried another 3-pointer to forge a 68-68 tie with 4.6 seconds left. Connecticut failed to get a shot off, sending it to overtime, where Walker and Lamb scored four points apiece to seal it.
Top Game Performances
 
Connecticut   Syracuse
Kemba Walker 33 Scoring Scoop Jardine 20
Kemba Walker 5 Assists Brandon Triche 5
Kemba Walker 12 Rebounds Kris Joseph 9
Kemba Walker 13 Free Throws Made Scoop Jardine 2
Kemba Walker 6 Steals Rick Jackson 2
Charles Okwandu 3 Blocks C.J. Fair 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Connecticut 76 37.9 4-17 22-28 10 45 7 8
Syracuse 71 36.8 10-24 5-11 15 37 7 6