Syracuse 86, MU 79 OT
Mar. 7, 2009 3:30 p.m.
A furious comeback down the stretch wasn't enough to save the Marquette Golden Eagles on Senior Day.
Behind 24 points from Jonny Flynn and 20 from Andy Rautins, the Syracuse Orange came into the Bradley Center and knocked off MU, 86-79, in overtime on Saturday afternoon at the Bradley Center.
Jerel McNeal scored 25 points, Lazar Hayward 17, Wesley Matthews 14 and Jimmy Butler 12 to go along with a game- and personal-high 14 rebounds for No. 13 MU (23-8, 12-6), which will head into the Big East Tournament next Wednesday seeded fifth.
The Golden Eagles will enter the post-season on a down note, having lost four consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 3-18, 2004. The Golden Eagles will play the winner of Georgetown/St. John's in a second-round game at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
Rick Jackson added 17 points and Eric Devendorf 12 for the No. 25 Orange (23-8, 11-7), which locked up the sixth seeding in the Big East Tournament with the victory.
Syracuse grabbed control right out of the locker room to open the second half on a three-pointer from the left wing by Andy Rautins, and was able to keep MU at arm's length for most of the rest of the way.
A layup by Flynn gave the Orange its biggest lead of the game at 63-53 with 7:16 left, leaving the capacity crowd of 19,144 restless.
Syracuse led, 67-60, at the 4:53 mark when the Golden Eagles began a monster comeback.
Beginning with a pair of Matthews free throws MU ran off 10 consecutive points, sparked by turnovers on three straight possessions by the Orange. Crucial in that run was Butler, who couldn't be stopped on the boards.
He scored twice on putbacks, and kept another possession alive for Matthews, who scored at 3:27 to finally get MU back in front at 68-67.
Syracuse then got two straight buckets from Flynn to get back in front. The second came when he played the passing lane and picked off a Maurice Acker pass that was intended for McNeal at the top of the key.
Flynn scored on the other end and got fouled. The free throw made it 72-70 with 30.8 seconds remaining.
McNeal then answered on the other end with an NBA-range three from the left wing to put the Golden Eagles back in front, 73-72.
MU applied some full-court pressure on the ensuing inbounds play but Syracuse was able to throw over the top, and wound up with Jackson at the free-throw line with 13.0 seconds left. He hit the first but missed the second, which MU rebounded.
The best it could get was a contested three from well beyond the top of the key by McNeal, which he missed, and game went into overtime -- MU's first of the season.
But the Golden Eagles couldn't get the stops they needed over those final 5:00.
Starting with an uncontested layup by Flynn, the Orange hit 4 of 6 shots in the extra period. A three-pointer from the right corner with 2:31 by Rautins proved to be the dagger, as Syracuse led from that point on.
MU managed just one field goal -- a McNeal three -- in overtime.
In all, the Golden Eagles shot just 36.0% compared to a 56.3% afternoon for Syracuse. MU out-rebounded the Orange, 42-38, and scored 33 second-chance points.
MU allowed Syracuse to shoot 53.6% in the first half, but still was able to head into the locker room with a 35-34 lead at intermission with a 35-34 lead thanks to 11 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points.
The Golden Eagles led by as many as nine points early on, but some strong interior play by the Orange got Syracuse back into it. MU had no answers for Rick Jackson, who scored 10 points in 16 minutes to help pick up the slack when Arinze Onuaku was sent to the bench with his third foul.
Butler, meanwhile, was a spark off the bench from the outset, bouncing back from a forgettable outing at Pittsburgh on Wednesday to grab nine boards in 16 first-half minutes, including five on the offensive end. His previous personal high for a game was 10.
Acker was also a catalyst, dishing out six assists without a turnover in 16 minutes.
Hayward had 10 points, McNeal and Matthews seven apiece and Butler six for MU, which shot just 36.1% against the Orange's vaunted 2-3 zone.
Devendorf had 10 points along with Jackson to lead Syracuse.
As a tribute to his four years at MU, the injured Dominic James was announced as a starter, and was able to enjoy one final ovation as he made his way from the bench to the court on crutches.
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