While the SU Basketball team was enjoying their Thanksgiving turkey on Thursday, they were saving some room for another type of bird. The # 5 Orange will face the Stanford Cardinal in the NIT Tip-off Championship game, Friday at 5 PM at Madison Square Garden.
The Orange beat Virginia Tech 69-58 on Wednesday night in what turned out to be their toughest test of the season so far. Kris Joseph and C.J Fair each pulled off double-doubles, Joseph leading the way with 20 points, while pulling down 10 rebounds. The Orange went on an 11-and-0 run late in the 2nd half for the come from behind victory to improve to 5-0 on the season.
"We had relatively easy game and this was our first test," admits Joseph, "from here on out, no games are gonna be that easy. Soon the Big Est Conference starts, which is the toughest conference in the country, this was a great start for us, especially playing at the Garden in this atmosphere."
Dion Waiters, once again, proved to be a huge spark plug off the bench, scoring all 11 of his points in the second half. Brandon Triche finished with a season-high 18 points, including four 3-pointers.
"I think we responded pretty well," says Triche, "the first half was pretty tough, but I think we're a team of runs, and in the second half we got it going a little bit. I think C.J. Played well, and out bench is what's gonna get us these tough wins and they definitely helped us."
"I thought Brandon (Triche) really got us going," reflected SU Head Coach Jim Boeheim, "I thought C.J. Fair was really good in the second half, but we've had four east games and when you get that first tough game it's always gonna be difficult."
Another test should be coming tomorrow when the Orange face a Stanford team who defeated Oklahoma State 82-67 to earn the right to play Syracuse in the final.
