SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Jim Boeheim stared up in frustration at the Carrier Dome scoreboard, his No. 2 Orange in big trouble against eighth ranked Villanova.
The Wildcats had started Saturday’s game by hitting four consecutive three-pointers - three by James Bell and another by Darrun Hilliard - and led 25-7 midway through the first half after a dunk by Josh Hart.
Syracuse struggled to create open looks and went nearly 4 minutes without a basket as the Wildcats looked exactly like the team that had already beaten two ranked teams.
“There was no indication we were going to get going,” Boeheim said.
If the Orange were frazzled by their largest deficit of the season, it never showed.They responded with a 20-0 run over the next 5 minutes to take their first lead and never trailed again, winning 78-62 in a game between two of nine unbeaten teams left in Division I.
“They came out on fire. They kind of caught us off guard,” said C.J. Fair, who had 17 points for the Orange despite constant double-teams. “We knew the kind of team they are. It’s hard to have a defense for the type of offense they have for the first 5 or 10 minutes.”
Syracuse (12-0) tightened its defense and the Wildcats (11-1) missed seven shots, committed three fouls and were called for a travel before losing the ball out of bounds as the game began to slip away.
Villanova trailed 34-30 at the half, not bad considering leading scorer JayVaughn Pinkston had only three points on 1-of-3 shooting, his only make coming on a desperation 3 at the shot-clock buzzer in the final minute.
Trevor Cooney led Syracuse with 21 points, Tyler Ennis had 20, and Jerami Grant 11.
In other games involving Top 25 teams, Sam Dekker had 16 points and 11 rebounds as No. 4 Wisconsin (13-0) cruised past visiting Prairie View A&M, 80-43. Ben Brust scored 11 for Wisconsin, while Frank Kaminsky and Nigel Hayes added 10 points apiece. Montrael Scott scored 14 to lead the Panthers (2-10), who finished 1-8 on a nine-game road swing. ... Keith Appling scored 16 of his career-high tying 27 points in the first half to help No. 5 Michigan State (11-1) pull away and rout visiting New Orleans, 101-48. Matt Derenbecker scored 16 and Cory Dixon had 11 points for the Privateers (3-5). ... Jabari Parker scored 23 points and No. 9 Duke beat visiting Eastern Michigan 82-59. Andre Dawkins added 20 points with a season-high six three-pointers as a late replacement for an ill Rodney Hood in the starting lineup. Rasheed Sulaimon added 13 points and came up with the key hustle play during the decisive second-half run that helped the Blue Devils (10-2) polish off their fourth consecutive victory. Mike Talley scored 20 points to lead the Eagles (7-4). ... Shabazz Napier had 15 points and nine assists to lead No. 15 Connecticut to an 82-65 victory over visiting Eastern Washington in a UConn home game played 80 miles from campus in Bridgeport, Conn. Napier led a balanced attack in which five Huskies reached 10 points or more. Ryan Boatright had 14 points and Niels Giffey, making his first start this season, added 13 for UConn (11-1). Tyler Harvey scored 19 points to lead Eastern Washington (5-6). ... Michael Dixon scored 14 points, Shaq Goodwin had 13 points and seven rebounds, and No. 15 Memphis (9-2) never trailed in a 75-61 victory over visiting Jackson State (4-8). David Pellom had 12 points and Joe Jackson scored 11. Julysses Nobles led Jackson State with 20 points. ... Derrick Gordon’s put-back with 1.1 seconds left in overtime lifted 23rd-ranked Massachusetts (11-1) to a 69-67 victory over Providence (10-3). Gordon grabbed the rebound after a three-point attempt by Trey Davis came up short. The Friars’ Bryce Cotton had tied the score at 67 after connecting from beyond the arc with 37 seconds remaining in the extra session. Cady Lalanne led UMass with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Cotton finished with 24 points, five rebounds and five assists for Providence. ... David Stockton scored a season-high 21 points as injury-plagued No. 24 Gonzaga beat Santa Clara 74-60 in the teams’ West Coast Conference opener. Kevin Pangos had 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting for the Bulldogs (11-2, 1-0). Brandon Clark scored 22 points as the Broncos (7-7, 0-1) lost for the seventh consecutive time in Spokane.
Sports, Pages 29 on 12/29/2013