The # 1 Syracuse Orange are one win away from finishing undefeated in non-conference regular season play after an 80-61 win over Bucknell on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome. The Orange shot 53 percent from the floor with three players finishing with double digits, including seniors Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine. Bucknell missed some key shots in the first half, but picked it up in the second frame, Mike Muscala leading the Bisons with 14 points.
"The difference in the game was in the first half when they had four or five wide open shots and they just missed them," says head coach Jim Boeheim, "wide open. If they would have made those shots it would have been about an eight-point game at halftime, which is what it should have been, but because they missed them, we got breakouts and we got down the court.
Joseph led the way for the Orange with 17 points, while Jardine was close behind with 14. Coach Boeheim mentioned after the game that his two seniors would have to be there night in and night out, especially with Big East play next week.
"We can get better on the defensive end and our offense can always get better," says senior guard Scoop Jardine, "we only played one good game offensively this year, against N.C. State, and we made some shots and it was a tough win, but our offense can always get a lot better.
"We need to perform well for our team not necessarily in points per game," added senior forward Kris Joseph, "but just being there offensively and making plays for our teammates. If Scoop and I are doing that every night then I think we are going to be very successful."
Freshman Rakeem Christmas was the other scorer in double figures, finishing with a career high 10 points and 5 rebounds.
"He's a physical type player, he's not a finesse player and he's not a shooter," says Boeheim, "He's got to be a physical player. He's got to be a warrior down there and right now he's a nice kid. He has to be able to go on the court and be a warrior and he isn't right now. This team didn't block him out and weren't physical with him so he got to the basket and made some plays. Most teams we play aren't going to let that happen.
Fab Melo had 8 points on the night, and matched a career-high with 9 rebounds.
The following is a game recap from the Associated Press.
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Kris Joseph had 17 points, Scoop Jardine added 14 and No. 1 Syracuse cruised past Bucknell 80-61 on Tuesday night.
The Orange (12-0), who retained the No. 1 ranking for the second straight week after an 88-72 road win over North Carolina State on Saturday, won their 30th straight nonconference home game.
It was only the second time Bucknell (7-5) has played the No. 1 team in the nation. The Bison lost to Duke, 84-50, on Jan. 2, 2006.
Bucknell entered the game 1-8 against Syracuse, but that lone win, a 74-69 triumph over the 17th-ranked Orange, came in the Bison's last visit to the Carrier Dome in November 2005.
Thoughts of another upset vanished in a flash.
Freshman Rakeem Christmas scored seven straight points in the opening 3:20, completing his personal spurt with a follow of a miss by Joseph to stake the Orange to a 9-4 lead. He finished with a season-high 10 points.
Syracuse shot 50 percent in the opening half and held the Bison to 8-of-28 shooting (29 percent) to take a 39-22 halftime lead.
Mike Muscala, Patriot League player of the year last season, entered the game with five double-doubles, three more than Syracuse as a team. He finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Ben Brackney had 11 points and Joe Willman 10 for the Bison.
Bucknell entered the game shooting nearly 40 percent from long range and went 2 of 10 in the first half, finishing 7 of 22 after a hot second half.
Bucknell shot 60 percent in its previous two games, wins over Binghamton and Richmond, but the Bison found few openings against Syracuse, and when they did they misfired a lot.
After James Southerland hit a 3-pointer to stake the Orange to a 19-8 lead midway through the first half, Willman missed a short jumper and Steven Kaspar missed an open 3 on consecutive possessions.
Then, after Brackney hit a 3 from the left corner to move Bucknell within 24-13 with 5:39 left, he missed an open layup, Brian Fitzpatrick failed to convert in close, and Willman missed another layup, taking his eyes off the basket as the Orange big men swarmed all around him.
In their 79-65 win over Richmond on Saturday night, the Bison trailed 31-27 at halftime before hitting 14 of 20 field goals and 19 of 19 free throws in the second half.
The Bison again fought gamely in the second half. Bryson Johnson hit three 3-pointers in a span of just over 4 minutes and Brackney hit another. That did little to dent a lead that ballooned to as many as 23 points as the Orange kept pace.
