No. 1 Syracuse 61, Notre Dame 55: Trevor Cooney scored a career-high 33 points and tied a school record with nine 3-pointers as the host Orange downed the Fighting Irish to remain one of two undefeated teams in Division I.
Cooney went 11-for-15 from the field on a night in which Syracuse (22-0, 9-0 ACC) had little else going for it offensively after shooting a season-high 57.4 percent in Saturday’s overtime win over Duke. Leading scorer C.J. Fair was limited to a season-low six points on 2-of-13 shooting – after posting a career-high 28 against Duke – as Cooney’s teammates shot a combined 10-of-32.
Garrick Sherman had 16 points and eight rebounds to pace Notre Dame (12-11, 3-7), which has dropped four of five. Freshman Steve Vasturia poured in a career-high 13 points while Pat Connaughton contributed 11 points and eight boards.
Cooney nearly outscored Notre Dame by himself with 17 points in the opening stanza, drilling four straight 3-pointers over a six-plus minute span to help Syracuse overcome a ragged start. Cooney’s jumper with six minutes left in the first half capped a stretch in which he scored 14 straight points for the Orange while his fifth 3-pointer of the opening 20 minutes sent Syracuse into the break with a 31-18 lead.
Another 3-pointer from Cooney early in the second half stretched the margin to 14 before Notre Dame held the Orange scoreless for nearly six minutes to close within 43-40 with 8:43 remaining. Jerami Grant ended the drought a little more than two minutes later and Cooney caught fire again, draining two more 3-pointers and converting a three-point play in a 1:20 span to hold off the stubborn Irish.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cooney became the fourth Orange to hit nine 3-pointers, matching Gerry McNamara, Andy Rautins and James Southerland. … Syracuse tied the 1980-81 Virginia team for the third-best start in ACC history, trailing only North Carolina in 1956-57 and North Carolina State in 1972-73. … Notre Dame’s 18-point first half was its second-lowest offensive output in a half under coach Mike Brey.
Notre Dame | Syracuse | |
Garrick Sherman 16 | Scoring | Trevor Cooney 33 |
Eric Atkins 6 | Assists | Tyler Ennis 8 |
Pat Connaughton 8 | Rebounds | Rakeem Christmas 6 |
Garrick Sherman 4 | Free Throws Made | Jerami Grant 3 |
Eric Atkins 2 | Steals | Trevor Cooney 4 |
Garrick Sherman 1 | Blocks | Rakeem Christmas 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Notre Dame | 55 | 40.8 | 6-18 | 9-14 | 12 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 12 |
Syracuse | 61 | 44.7 | 10-16 | 9-13 | 16 | 25 | 5 | 9 | 10 |