Dec. 22, 2009

Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - No. 5 Syracuse (11-0) shot 55 percent (17-31) in the first half and used a 17-4 run over a 10-minute span to upend Oakland University (6-7), 92-60, in men's basketball action on Tuesday night inside the Carrier Dome. Sophomore Drew Maynard tallied a season-high 18 points, while junior Keith Benson and senior Derick Nelson each chipped in with 10 points.

"I really thought we played a heck of a first half," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "We had a couple of bad spots there where we had three guys on the ball and it went out of bounds with a chance to cut it below ten. The second half, not so much, but once it got away from us there wasn't much left in the tank."

SU's Brandon Triche led all scorers with a career-high 27 points, including 6 of 6 from three-point range. Also in double figures for the Orange was Wesley Johnson with 19, while Rick Jackson and Mookie Jones scored 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Oakland began the game with some close misses and after the Golden Grizzlies' Wright scored the game's first basket, the Orange went on a 10-0 run over three minutes to take an early 10-2 lead at the 16:10 minute mark. The Golden Grizzlies were sparked by two steals by senior Johnathon Jones and a bucket by Benson as the lead was cut down to three points, 16-13, with less than 12 minutes until halftime.

SU came out of the media timeout and used a 17-4 run over six minutes to extend its lead to 15 points at the 5:56 minute mark of the first half. Maynard ended a scoring drought for the Grizzlies with a deep 3-pointer from the wing. OU continued to struggle from long range (2-16) and trailed the break, 43-28.

The 'Cuse finished at 55 percent for the game (36-65) and held the Golden Grizzlies to 37 percent (26-70) and just 2 of 22 from deep. SU outrebounded Oakland 44-36.

Freshman Drew Valentine reached a career-high with six points for the Grizzlies and Jones had eight assists and three steals.

The Golden Grizzlies return to Rochester for a three-game home stand against Alma College (Dec. 28), Western Illinois (Dec. 31) and IUPUI (Jan. 2). Tip for Monday's contest with Alma will be 7 p.m.