Syracuse Defeats No. 25 Notre Dame, 81-66
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Trevor Cooney scored 22 points to lead four Syracuse players in double figures, and the Orange beat No. 25 Notre Dame, 81-66, on Thursday night.
It was the fourth victory of the season over a ranked team for Syracuse (14-8, 4-5 ACC), which built a 44-27 halftime lead and was not threatened in the second half by the Irish (14-6, 5-3), who played without injured point guard and leading scorer Demetrius Jackson.
The loss snapped the Irish's four-game win streak.
Michael Gbinije, Tyler Lydon and Malachi Richardson each scored 15 for Syracuse.
Notre Dame freshman guard Rex Pflueger made his first career start in place of Jackson, who is out with a pulled right hamstring with Steve Vasturia playing point guard.
V.J. Beachem led Notre Dame with 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, four in the second half, while Vasturia finished with 16 points. Pflueger finished with two points, six assists and zero turnovers.
The Irish, who average just nine turnovers a game, the best in the country, had nine in the game's first 15 minutes and finished with 10, four by Vasturia.
Notre Dame moved within 48-36 on a pair of free throws by Vasturia with 16:15 left, but Richardson followed with a four-point play, hitting a 3 from the left wing while being fouled by Beachem. Dajuan Coleman followed with a block for the Orange and Gbinije finished at the other end with a foul line jumper to boost the lead back to 18.
Notre Dame scored the game's first five points before Syracuse responded with a 23-1 run, led by seven from Cooney, including two 3-pointers, and seven more by Tyler Roberson.
Notre Dame went nearly nine minutes between field goals. A hook by Bonzie Colson with 9:40 to go in the half ended the drought.
Vasturia rallied the Irish to within 12 at 31-19 on eight straight points, but the Orange pulled away for a 44-27 lead at the half. Vasturia hit a 3-point shot from just inside midcourt as time expired.
The Irish closed to within 12 points twice early in the second half before the Orange pulled away to its biggest lead at 63-40 on Coleman's slam with 11:06 to go.
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