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Game Flow (see right)
Photo Gallery (Photos by Patrick Shanahan)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- No. 7/9 Syracuse jumped off to a hot start, controlled the backboards and remained unbeaten on the season with a 78-58 victoryu over Cornell on Tuesday evening at the Carrier Dome. Sophomore Errick Peck matched his career high of 14 points and Cornell outscored the home team 41-40 after the break, but couldn't avoid its fourth consecutive loss in falling to 2-5.
Peck had 10 of his points in the first half, including an alley-oop dunk to open the scoring for the Big Red on its first possession, and added two assists and a steal. Chris Wroblewski chipped in with eight points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals and Drew Ferry connected on three 3-pointers for nine points. Adam Wire had six rebounds and a game-high four steals in the loss for the visitors, who shot 34 percent for the game and were outrebounded 48-27. The team had a season-high 13 steaks and forced 20 turnovers.
Rick Jackson had 17 points, 13 rebounds and three assists in 31 productive minutes for SU, which shot 50 percent from the floor. Kris Joseph (16 points) and Dion Waiters (11 points) were also in double figures. SU dominated the first half, taking a 38-17 lead into the break after limiting Cornell to 24 percent shooting over the first 20 minutes. Included was a 1-of-12 effort from beyond the arc (8 percent). Highly-touted fresham Fab Melo notched eight points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
SU wasted little time jumping out to a 15-3 lead after just 5:19. Only Peck's dunk and a free-throw by the sophomore on the next possession kept it close early, and a 10-0 Syracuse run was triggered by a dunk and a 3-pointer by Joseph. A basket by Coury off a feed from Wroblewski, followed by a short jumper of his own, made it 15-7, but that triggered a 14-0 run over the next 5:24 that turned an eight-point lead into a 22-point bulge at 29-7 with just under eight minutes left before halftime.
Peck and Miles Asafo-Adjei triggered the offense, with Asafo-Adjei getting to the line twice and Peck hitting a 3-pointer to stem the runs. His second dunk, this one after catching the ball at the free-throw line, using a head fake and taking a dribble before throwing it down, were the final points of the half for either team.
Cornell's intensity on both ends picked up after halftime, as the visitors opened the stanza with an 18-8 run over the first 5:53, doubling their scoring total and cutting the deficit to 11 (46-35). Ferry got the Big Red started by draining a pair of treys, both off of feeds from Wroblewski, then the Big Red got three consecutive layups, one each by Wire, Mark Coury and Peck. A third Ferry 3-pointer made it 49-38 with 13:21 left, and Cornell continued to hang around for the next several minutes before an 11-0 Syracuse run put the game back out of hand. By the time Mark Coury tipped in a shot and was fouled to complete a three-point play with 4:14 remaining, the game was all but decided. Max Groebe got back on track in the final minutes, hitting a pair of 3-pointers on his way to eight late points, while Johnathan Gray (3-pointer) and Eitan Chemerinski (offensive putback) got into the scorebook in the final minutes.
The Big Red returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. CST when it visits Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. to face the No. 15/13 Minnesota Golden Gophers.
