SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Cornell's defense limited Syracuse to 16 points in the game's first 16 minutes, but the Orange couldn't solve the vaunted zone in a 61-44 loss on Wednesday evening at the Carrier Dome. The Big Red slipped to 6-7, while SU improved to 9-4.

The Big Red shot just 20 percent from the floor in the first half and never recovered, scoring just two points in the game's first 14 minutes. Senior Shonn Miller had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals and sophomore JoJo Fallas tied a career high with 11 points and chipped in four rebounds, three steals and two assists in the loss. Cornell shot 47 percent from the floor after halftime and prevented Syracuse from running away with the game, but it was too little, too late to pull the upset.

Senior Deion Giddens hd six points and three rebounds in seven energetic minutes, while classmate Galal Cancer notched three points, six assists and two rebounds. Cornell held a 34-33 edge on the glass, including 12-8 on the offensive end that led to a 12-4 advantage in second chance points.

Syracuse's Rakeem Christmas had 19 points and nine rebounds, while Trevor Cooney noted 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Syracuse shot 48 percent from the floor, including 60 percent after the break.

Neither team was able to get it started on the offensive end and the game went more than three and a half minutes before Christmas got Syracuse on the board, part of a 14-2 run to open the contest. Cornell didn't score until there were more than seven minutes off the clock when Fallas hit a 15-footer. Fallas had the team's first five points, connecting on a 3-pointer to spur a 5-0 run that cut a 12-point Syracuse lead to 14-7 with 4:34 left in the half. A 3-pointer by Robert Hatter a minute later made it a six-point game and gave Cornell some momentum, but Syracuse ended the first 20 minutes with a 7-2 run, including a dagger 3-pointer by Cooney near the end of the shot clock with 11 seconds remaining to send the home team into the break leading 23-12.

After its 1-for-17 start, Cornell would hit 18-of-38 (.478) the rest of the way, but couldn't claw back. The Big Red never let Syracuse put on a patented run, watching the home team methodically extend its lead to 23 points (47-24) before Cornell was able to maintain a little run. Seven straight Big Red points, including a putback by Giddens, a dunk by Miller and a 3-pointer by Fallas got Cornell back within 47-31 with 9:11 left, forcing Syracuse to call a timeout. That would be as close as the visitors would get the rest of the way until freshman Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof hit a 15-foot jumper with 42 seconds left. The final 10 minutes saw a number of highlight plays for the Big Red - a pair of Miller alley-oop dunks, a dunk by Dave LaMore and a putback slam by Giddens.

Cornell opens the new year when it visits Buffalo on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 3 p.m.