BIG EAST/ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE

Orange make splash with upset

Syracuse forward C.J. Fair (5) tries to pass out of a double-team set by Louisville’s Montrezi Harrell (24) and Luke Hancock during the second half of the No. 6 Orange’s 70-68 victory over the top-ranked Cardinals on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.
Syracuse forward C.J. Fair (5) tries to pass out of a double-team set by Louisville’s Montrezi Harrell (24) and Luke Hancock during the second half of the No. 6 Orange’s 70-68 victory over the top-ranked Cardinals on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.

— Syracuse guard Michael Carter-Williams wasn’t fazed by a shaky first half, nor two missed free throws in the final minute that gave No. 1 Louisville chances to win Saturday.

The sophomore just knew he had to redeem himself, and his second-half recovery in several areas helped the sixth-ranked Orange rally for the 70-68 upset.

A record crowd of 22,814 at the KFC Yum! Center saw Syracuse beat a No. 1 team for fourth time, all Big East teams.

Carter-Williams’ most important contributions were a go-ahead three-pointer with 5:28 remaining, followed by a steal and go-ahead dunk with 23 seconds left as he scored 11 of his team’s final 13 points, including the last four.

He added a rebound and another steal at the end to cap a 16-point, seven-assist game that made it easy for Carter-Williams to forget a five-point first half and those two missed free throws.

Brandon Triche was 9 of 13 from the field, including five of Syracuse’s seven three-pointers, to finish with 23 points as the Orange (17-1, 5-0 Big East) took control of the Big East. He credited Carter-Williams for getting the victory.

“Michael was the reason we won the game, getting the dunk,” Triche said. “I might have kept us in the game, but he’s the reason we won the game getting the two steals. That’s winning stuff.”

Jerami Grant and C.J. Fair each had 10 points for the Orange, who won their seventh consecutive and beat the Cardinals for the third time in a row.

Russ Smith’s 25 points led Louisville (16-2, 4-1), which had its 11-game winning streak stopped. The Cardinals shot 41 percent (24 of 59) including 29 percent in the second half.

In other Big East games, Sean Kilpatrick scored seven of his career-high 36 points in overtime, and Cincinnati (16-3, 4-2) blew a 16-point lead before rallying to a 71-69 victory over No. 25 Marquette (13-4, 4-1). ... Jamal Branch scored 18 points to lead St. John’s (11-7, 1-4) to a 71-62 victory over host DePaul (10-8, 1-4). ... Lamar Patterson scored 14 points, Tray Woodall added 13 points and six assists and host Pittsburgh (15-4, 3-3) withstood a late rally by Connecticut (12-5, 2-3) to pull out a 69-61 victory. ... Bryce Cotton scored 24 points, and Vincent Council added 15, leading host Providence (10-8, 2-4) to a 69-66 victory over Villanova (11-7, 2-3). ... Anthony Collins scored all 14 of his points in the second half, including a couple of free throws with three seconds remaining, to lead host South Florida (10-7, 1-4) to its first Big East victory of the season, a 61-58 decision over Georgetown (12-4, 2-3). ... Jack Cooley had 19 points, 10 rebounds and Scott Martin drew a charge with two seconds left to help No. 20 Notre Dame hang on for a 69-66 victory over visiting Rutgers, ending a two-game losing streak for the Fighting Irish.

ACC

Tar Heels prevail

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Reggie Bullock scored 21 of his career-high 24 points in the first half to help North Carolina beat Maryland 62-52 Saturday.

James Michael McAdoo added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels (12-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who turned in a dominating first-half performance to build a 22-point lead at the break. Maryland (14-4, 2-3) never fully recovered from that mistake-filled first half and never got the lead below 10 points after halftime, even after North Carolina slowed down.

Bullock scored the game’s first eight points and outscored Maryland 21-20 through the opening 20 minutes, then set his career high with a straightaway threepointer with 5:45 left for his only second-half basket.

Dez Wells scored 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting to lead the Terrapins, while Alex Len had 10 points.

In other ACC games, Robert Brown made a short jumper with 12.3 seconds left to lift host Virginia Tech (11-6, 2-2)to a 66-65 victory over Wake Forest (9-8, 2-3). ... Joe Harris scored 17 points and host Virginia (12-5, 2-2) used a 22-4 run late in the first half and stifling defense throughout to beat Florida State (10-7, 2-2) for the first time in eight tries, 56-36.

Sports, Pages 29 on 01/20/2013

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