Fresh off a road win against a ranked opponent, Syracuse seemed to experience a letdown on Saturday. Fortunately for the Orange, it wasn't a big enough letdown and they were able to stave off an upset bid in Syracuse.
Junior guard Tyus Battle scored 26 points on 10 of 17 shooting to help lead Syracuse to a 63-55 win over Cornell in a non-conference contest.
Cornell got off to a good start, taking a 19-14 lead with 7:46 remaining in the first half before it appeared as if Syracuse was taking control.
The Orange went on a 12-0 run to take a 26-19 lead with 4:32 left in the first half, and then ultimately built their lead to 15 points at 39-24 with 17:57 left in the game.
But then Cornell staged a stunning rally.
The Big Red answered with a 12-2 run to cut the Syracuse lead to five at 41-36 with 13:26 remaining. After Syracuse took a 47-38 lead with 10:37 left, Cornell went on a 10-0 run to grab a 48-47 lead with 7:53 remaining.
From there, the Orange, who defeated ranked Ohio State earlier in the week, proved to be too much for Cornell.
Battle hit a 3-pointer with 5:51 left to give the Orange a 52-50 lead, and another jumper from Battle with 1:23 left capped off a 12-2 run that gave Syracuse a 61-52 lead.
Sophomore forward Oshae Brissett also had a strong game for Syracuse, scoring 19 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
The Orange shot 50 percent from the field (21 of 42) and shot 13 of 20 from the free-throw line, compared to 6 of 9 for Cornell.
The story of the game for Cornell was senior guard Matt Morgan, who scored 26 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the field, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range.
Cornell finished the game shooting 47.6 percent from the field (20 of 42) and 39.1 percent from 3-point range (9 of 23).
--Field Level Media
Cornell | Syracuse | |
Matt Morgan 26 | Scoring | Tyus Battle 26 |
Steven Julian 6 | Assists | Frank Howard 4 |
Jimmy Boeheim 6 | Rebounds | Oshae Brissett 8 |
Jimmy Boeheim 2 | Free Throws Made | Oshae Brissett 7 |
Steven Julian 2 | Steals | Marek Dolezaj 2 |
Jimmy Boeheim 1 | Blocks | Paschal Chukwu 2 |