SYRACUSE (AP) -- Wes Johnson had a career-high 26 points, Arinze Onuaku added 12 points, and No. 10 Syracuse beat Columbia 85-60 on Friday night.
It was the 805th career win for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, seventh all-time in Division I and one more than Eddie Sutton.
Facing its second straight Ivy League opponent, Syracuse (6-0) struggled to pull away from the Lions (2-2) in the first half before dominating the second.
Five points from Onuaku - on a three-point play and layup off a feed from Johnson - and Johnson's 3-pointer from the left side built Syracuse's 36-27 halftime lead to 44-27 with 17:31 left.
Then, in a span of 67 seconds, Johnson hit a pair of 3s and Mookie Jones hit another from the top of the key to complete a 19-3 spurt and boost the lead to 55-30 at 13:55.
Noruwa Agho finished with 22 points for Columbia.
Jones, who did not play in the Orange's 88-73 victory over two-time defending Ivy League champion Cornell on Tuesday and briefly stormed off the bench, had a career-high 12 points, all coming on 3-pointers. Rick Jackson added 10 points and nine rebounds and Scoop Jardine had eight points, seven assists and five steals.
Syracuse shot 52.6 percent, outscored the Lions 40-18 in the paint and 16-2 on the fast break, and had 29 points off Columbia's 20 turnovers.
If not for Agho, the Lions, who have six first-year players, would have been in trouble very early. Agho, who entered the game shooting 77.8 percent (14 of 18) from beyond the arc, hit the first three 3-pointers he attempted - he finished 4 of 7 from long range - and had 11 of Columbia's 13 points midway through the first half while his teammates were 1 of 9 from the floor.
After Agho swished a 3 from left wing and Steve Egee converted two free throws to move Columbia within 16-15 at 10:44, Syracuse scored eight straight points.
Johnson began the spurt by converting a tip follow off a miss by Brandon Triche , then stole the ball and fed Jardine for a fast-break layup. After Johnson sank a pair of free throws, Triche hit a driving layup off the glass for a 24-15 lead at 8:15.
A layup by John Daniels and a 3 by Niko Scott after a pair of strong offensive rebounds by Daniels had the Lions back within four points, but Jackson converted a three-point play and Johnson's slam dunk and long baseline jumper gave the Orange their nine-point lead at the break.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)