SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse used a dominant effort on the backboards and an explosive second half run to quiet a Cornell upset bid, ralling from a second half deficit for a 67-46 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome. The Orange improved to 8-3, while the Big Red slipped to 5-5.

Cornell took a 32-30 lead less than a minute into the second half with a quick 6-0 spurt, but Syracuse answered in a big way, holding Cornell scoreless over the next 4:11 during an 11-0 Orange run. Syracuse methodically built the lead over the final 10 minutes thanks to its dominance on the glass, particularly on the offensive boards. The Orange held a 48-27 edge on the glass, including 17-9 on the offensive end, and scored 17 big second chance points.

Robert Hatter had 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals to lead the Big Red, but was the lone double figure scorer on the day for the visitors. Matt Morgan added nine points and Darryl Smith had seven points, four assists and two rebounds. The Big Red shot just 32 percent from the floor and hit just 6-of-25 from beyond the arc against the Syracuse zone.

Tyler Roberson had 15 points and 12 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass, while Malachi Richardson had 15 points and eight boards. Michael Gbinije scored 12 points with eight assists and seven rebounds and Trevor Cooney rounded out the double figure scorers with 10 points. Tyler Lydon had nine points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots off the bench. As a team, the Orange had nine rejections.

Cornell's defense, particularly beyond the arc, was outstanding for most of the evening, but Syracuse's ability to get second shots and limit the visitors to one attempt on every possession evetually wore out the Big Red.

The two teams combined to hit just 7-of-28 3-pointers (25 percent) in the first 20 minutes of the contest, but Cornell was able to stay in the game with its feistiness. After trailing 4-0 and 6-2, the Big Red went on a 8-1 run to take a 10-7 lead on a deep Hatter 3-pointer early in the contest. Cornell missed consecutive 3-pointers to extend the lead, and a pair of buckets underneath gave SU the lead back. The Big Red regained the lead at 12-11 on a driving basket by Hatter, but Syracuse went on a 10-1 run to go up 21-13 while holding Cornell without a field goal for a span of 7:05.

Despite the scoring slump, Cornell stayed in the game by getting stops. A late flurry by Darryl Smith, including the second of consecutive 3-pointers for the team, got the SU advantage to three before going into the break down four.

The second half started as a Big Red flurry but ended in Syracuse methodically pulling away. The Orange run extended to 27-5 over the span of 13 minutes before Cornell made a final charge, getting the lead back to 12 with eight straight points with 3:35 left. It wouldn't get any closer as the home team wrapped up its 36th consecutive win in the series. 

Turning Point
• Trailing 30-26 at the break, Cornell scored six straight points in the span of 44 seconds to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the game at 32-30 with 19:16 remaining.
• Matt Morgan opened the half with a corner 3-pointer, and then Robert Hatter was fouled after a steal in the backcourt, converting a three-point play to silence the more than 18,000 Orange fans in attendance.
• Just 14 seconds later, Syracuse retook the lead for good with a 3-pointer by Cooney to spark an 11-0 run that turned the game around.

Notes To Know
• Junior Darryl Smith had a career high four assists in the first half alone.
• Junior Robert Hatter matched a career high with four steals.
• Hatter has reached double figures in the scoring column in nine of the team's first 10 games.
• Freshman Xavier Eaglin had a rebound and a steal, both firsts in his career.
• Cornell's 46 points was a season low.
• Freshman Troy Whiteside connected on both 3-pointers, the second time this year he has gone 2-for-2 in a game from beyond the arc.

Next Up
• The Big Red returns home for its last home game of the 2015 season when Monmouth visits Newman Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 23 at 6 p.m.
• It will be the first-ever meeting between Cornell and the Hawks.