Bonnies outlasts ‘Cuse in overtime 60-57
By Mark Frank SYRACUSE, N.Y. » Jaylen Adams scored 23 points, 21 in the first half, and St. Bonaventure withstood a furious Syracuse rally to win its first-ever game in the Carrier Dome in 11 tries, defeating Syracuse 60-57 in overtime Friday night.
The Bonnies (10-2) led by as many as 13 in the second half but Syracuse (102) closed regulation on a 15-2 run to tie the game at 53. Paschal Chukwu, a career 48 percent shooter from the foul line, tied the game on a layup and foul shot with 1:18 to go in regulation. Tyus Battle missed a potential game-winning layup with two seconds to go in regulation and Oshae Brissett missed a put-back at the buzzer.
Courtney Stocker scored five of St. Bonaventure’s seven points in overtime. Brissett appeared to give Syracuse a 59-58 lead with 12 seconds to go in overtime but was called for an offensive foul. Adams closed out the scoring with two foul shots to give the Bonnies its 3-point margin and their seventh-straight win, the program’s longest winning streak in 25 years.
Syracuse, which now leads the series 24-4, had defeated St. Bonaventure 14 straight games dating back to Jan. 26, 1981. Ladrien Griffin added nine points and Matt Mobley and Idris Taqqee chipped in with eight each. St. Bonaventure is 6-0 since Adams returned from a foot injury to start the season.
The Bonnies hit 7 of 18 from 3, including 4-of-6 by Adams.
Frank Howard led Syracuse with 17 points and Brissett added 15. Tyus Battle was held to 11 points on 3-of-18 shooting, and 1 of 9 from 3.
The Orange shot just 30 percent from the field and 3 of 19 from 3-point range. Syracuse also hurt itself at the foul line, hitting 18-of-28.
It was the Adams show in the first half. The senior from Baltimore scored 21 points, exceeding his season average of 17.2 points per game, to boost the Bonnies to a 40-33 lead at intermission. The Orange had a 2322 lead when Adams went to work. He scored 14 of St. Bonaventure’s 18 points to close the half, four on consecutive 3-pointers and a lay-in with 13 seconds to go.
Griffin chipped in with seven. The Bonnies closed the half on a 20-10 run.
Brissett led Syracuse with 10 points and six rebounds. Howard added nine points. Tyus Battle was held to just five points on 2-of-8 shooting.
As much as Adams killed the Orange in the first half, Syracuse hurt itself mightily at the foul line, hitting just 9 of 16. Syracuse hit just 2 of 9 from beyond the arc. St. Bonaventure was 6 of 11 from 3.
The first half was a physical affair with the teams combining for 23 personal fouls. BIG PICTURE: St. Bonaventure can celebrate its win over an extended break and heads into A-10 action with a full head of steam.
Syracuse needs to regroup with just one preconference game left on its schedule. The Orange is prone to 3-point outbursts, this time Adams killed Syracuse from the outside. UP NEXT: St. Bonaventure has an extended break until next Saturday when the Bonnies open up A-10 play at home against UMass.
Syracuse concludes its pre-conference schedule with a home game Wednesday against Eastern Michigan and head coach Rob Murphy, a former Syracuse assistant.