Orange steamrolls Hokies in second half
NEKris Joseph #32 of the Syracuse Orange drives the ball against Jarell Eddie #31 of the Virginia Tech Hokies during the 2011 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden. (Nov. 23, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
Virginia Tech got a taste of what the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference can expect when Syracuse finally is allowed to complete its move from the Big East in the fall of 2014. The Orange never led in the first half but overwhelmed the Hokies with size and athleticism in a commanding second-half performance on their way to a 69-58 victory in a semifinal game of the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Senior forward Kris Joseph led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and guard Brandon Triche added 18 points. But it was the contributions of bench players C.J. Fair (12 points, 9 rebounds) and Dion Waiters (11 points) that really drove the second-half runaway along with five blocked shots by 7-foot center Fab Melo.
The Hokies (3-1) had three players in double figures, including Jarell Eddie (17 points), Erick Green (14) and Dorenzo Hudson (13), but they shot only 37.5 percent in the second half. In contrast, Syracuse made 55.2 percent of its shots in the second half, including a 5-for-8 effort from three-point range, and the Orange led in points in the paint (36-16) and points off turnovers (22-9).
Describing the impact of Fair and Waiters, Triche said, "Our chemistry is pretty good. We mix and match a lot of guys in practice."
Syracuse (5-0) advanced to meet Stanford (5-0) in Friday afternoon's championship game. The Cardinal topped Oklahoma State, 82-67, in the early semifinal behind a 21-point effort by forward Josh Owens, who made his first nine shots and hit 10 of 12 from the field.
If the Orange was distracted by the recent controversy involving accusations of child molestation against assistant coach Bernie Fine, it didn't show. Coach Jim Boeheim defended his longtime assistant, and Joseph said the Orange wasn't bothered "at all. We're here to win two basketball games, and we're looking forward to playing Stanford."
Considering Syracuse bills itself as "New York's team," it was surprising when Virginia Tech broke on top 15-8, a run that featured three three-pointers by Eddie, Green and Robert Brown. Syracuse fought back to cut the Hokies' lead to 29-27 at the halftime break.
Trailing by five early in the second half, the Orange exploded on a 24-8 run that included nine points by Waiters and eight by Fair as they moved out to a 56-45 lead. A dunk by Fair gave Syracuse its first lead of the game at 44-42 with 12:10 left to play, and after a Hokies turnover, Fair sank a backbreaking three-pointer from the right wing. "C.J. hit the big shot," Boeheim said of that three. "C.J. got to the perimeter. That was probably the shot of the game."
