The Syracuse Orangemen came out sleeping at the start for the second straight game, but were able to overcome an 18-point deficit on the road to defeat the DePaul Blue Demons 59-57 in a Big East Conference matchup.  Syracuse was lead by Wes Johnson who registered 16 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the Orange.  DePaul’s Will Walker scored 21 points in a losing effort.

Syracuse Survives In DePaul

Syracuse came out flat, falling behind 14-6 in the opening minutes.  It was replay of their slow start against Georgetown this past Monday night, spotting the Hoyas 14 points before they got onto the scoreboard.  But unlike the Georgetown game, Syracuse had work much harder to pull themselves back into this game, as the offense was unable to pull itself out of its lull.

As Syracuse laid brick after brick on the rim, DePaul was able to extend its lead to 33-15 with 8:53 left in the first half.  The vaunted Syracuse 2-3 zone the kicked in and left DePaul with no answers as the Orange went on a 16-0 run that spanned 7:40 before DePaul’s Krys Faber nailed a jumper to halt the run, allowing DePaul to head into halftime with 35-31 lead against the #3 ranked team in the country.

Syracuse’s offensive woes continued into the second half, as senior guard Andy Rautins was unable to breakout of a two-game shooting slump and Syracuse struggled to get baskets to fall.  DePaul built its lead back up to 52-43 after a Mac Koshwal layup with 7:20 remaining.

From that point on, it was all Syracuse.  Kris Joseph, Rautins and Scoop Jardine connected on consecutive three-point baskets.  The Syracuse offense then shifted into transition mode, as Johnson beat the Blue Demons up the court for a highlight reel dunk to tie the game and on the next possession Jardine was able to push through and past traffic for a layup that gave Syracuse the lead for the first time in the game at 56-54 with 3:37 left in the game.

Syracuse would not relinquish that lead again.

The Blue Demons has their chances to put Syracuse away, but squandered numerous opportunities.  The key to the game actually didn’t happen on the floor, it happened in the coaches box for DePaul.  Interim head coach Tracy Webster, who recently replaced the fired Jerry Wainwright, and his team squandered their timeouts in the second half.  After using their final timeout at 8:28 while extending their lead, DePaul was unable to slow the momentum of Syracuse’s late run that would snatch away a chance at getting their 2nd Big East victory in their last 29 Big East games.

For Syracuse, it was another game that tested the mettle of its squad.  It gives them some things to work on, but they should come away positive from the victory knowing that their worst offensive performance of the season resulted in a victory.  When the pressure was on, the Orange once again delivered on both ends of the court.