Syracuse 88, Maryland 72
Associated Press
Thursday, March 20, 2008
10:34 PM
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- An injured Jonny Flynn had to watch helplessly from the bench Tuesday night as Syracuse struggled in its opening round NIT game. On Thursday, Flynn was feeling better and scored 23 points to help the Orange advance to the quarterfinals of the NIT with an 88-72 victory over Maryland.
Flynn scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half, and handed out seven assists to lead Syracuse (21-13), which will play the winner of Saturday's second-round matchup between Massachusetts and Akron.
"I started the game coasting a little bit but I said to myself if I'm out here I might as well play all out," said Flynn. "I'm not going to be out here and be a liability to the team."
Flynn, the co-Big East Freshman of the Year, sat out the second half of Syracuse's victory Tuesday night over Robert Morris after aggravating a back injury he first suffered on March 12 in Syracuse's loss to Villanova in the opening round of the Big East Conference tournament. After sitting out a week of practice, he scored just one basket in 14 minutes.
"Jonny practiced a little Wednesday and that was the difference," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. "He looked just as good as he has all year long. He was tremendous when we broke the game open. He hit a couple big shots and then made big, big pass plays where he got in the lane and found people."
"I wished we had played him Tuesday night," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "He's a great player. He gives you the ability to break down the defense. Even if you have a play that doesn't work, if you have a Jonny Flynn he is going to create something."
Arinze Onuaku added 14 points and 14 rebounds for Syracuse, which also got 19 points and 10 rebounds from Paul Harris. Donte Green added 16.
Top-seeded Syracuse used a 15-5 spurt late in the second half to pull away from Maryland (19-15), which got 23 points and 11 rebounds from James Gist before he fouled out in the final minute and a career-high 21 from Bambale Osby.
The Terps, a fifth seed, pulled ahead of the Orange to start the second half on three consecutive baskets by Osby. When Osby converted a three-point play with 13:26 to go he gave Maryland a 54-53 lead.
But Syracuse regained the lead for good with its spurt, taking a 68-59 lead on Flynn's basket with 8:52 to play.
"Our offense broke down against that zone. That zone just starts wearing on you," Osby said, referring to Syracuse's trademark 2-3 zone.
"We did a good job early but Syracuse did a better job later," said Williams. "They had the better energy getting loose balls and second shots ... the things that hurt us. They wore us down in the second half."
Syracuse led just 40-38 at halftime, withstanding an 18-point first half by Gist and Maryland's 60 percent shooting from the field. At one point, Gist scored 12 straight points for the Terps, who led by as many as eight points in the first half.
But Syracuse outscored Maryland 12-0 over a 2 1/2 minute span late in the half to seize the lead and build its own eight-point cushion. Back-to-back threes by Greene and Flynn gave the Orange their first lead of the night, 32-30, with 4:42 to play.
Greivis Vasquez, Maryland's leading scorer at 17.2 points a game, scored only 8 points. His first basket, a three-pointer, came with 15:23 to play in the game. Vasquez had 8 assists.
NOTES: Maryland is now 5-2 all-time against Syracuse, with the Orange winning the last two meetings. Syracuse defeated Maryland 72-70 in 2004 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament...Both Boeheim and Williams rank in the top 10 among active Division I coaches in victories.