Associated Press
UNC's Marcus Ginyard drives on Syracuse's Andy Rautins.
Red-hot Orange routs North Carolina
Brandon Triche and Arinze Onuaku combined for 13 points in Syracuse's 22-1 run to open the second half and the Orange went on to a 87-71 victory over No. 6 North Carolina last night in the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic in New York.
The Orange (4-0) was the only unranked team in the semifinals of the tournament that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer, but left Madison Square Garden with blowout wins over No. 13 California and the Tar Heels (4-1).
North Carolina had a 39-37 halftime lead, but that was gone in a hurry as Triche and Onuaku had field goals in the first 40 seconds. By the time the run ended 8 minutes into the second half Syracuse had a 59-40 lead.
Tournament MVP Wesley Johnson had 25 points for the Orange, who beat California, 95-73, in the semifinals. Onuaku finished with 15 points and Triche had 11.
Johnson, a 6-7 junior transfer from Iowa State, was 10 of 17 from the field, including making half of eight three-point attempts, and had eight rebounds.
Ed Davis had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Marcus Ginyard added 15 points for the Tar Heels, who lost almost all of a 19-point second-half lead before beating No. 15 Ohio State, 77-73, to reach the title game.
North Carolina missed its first 13 shots of the second half and turned the ball over six times as the Orange just didn't miss. Syracuse started the half by making 10 of its first 14 shots and the baskets were coming down low from Onuaku and from the perimeter including a 3 by Johnson that made it 57-40.
The Tar Heels closed to 68-60 on a three by David Wear with 7:04 left, but Onuaku had the first and last baskets of a 6-0 run that ended any thoughts of a comeback for the ages.
No. 15 Ohio State beat No. 13 California, 76-70, in the third-place game. Evan Turner had 26 points and 14 rebounds, his fourth double-double in as many games, to lead the Buckeyes (3-1).
Jerome Randle had 26 points for the the Golden Bears (2-2).
In other games:
* At Michigan State, Draymond Green had 15 points to lead a balanced attack, and the No. 2 Spartans beat Toledo, 75-62.
The game was a regional matchup in the Legends Classic. The Spartans (3-0), who have won 42 straight home games against nonconference opponents, host Valparaiso tomorrow before heading to Atlantic City for a date next Friday with Florida in the tournament semifinals.
* At North Carolina-Greensboro, Trevor Booker scored a season-high 17 points, and No. 22 Clemson (3-0) rolled, 89-67.
* At Michigan, Manny Harris scored 25 points, and DeShawn Sims added 22 to help the No. 15 Wolverines (2-0) beat Houston Baptist, 77-55.
* At St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Scotty Hopson scored 25 points to lead No. 10 Tennessee (3-0) to a 105-66 rout of East Carolina in the opening round of the Paradise Jam.
* At Maryland, Landon Milbourne's 24 points led the No. 25 Terrapins (3-0) over New Hampshire, 82-55.
* At Charleston, S.C., Malcolm Grant scored 18 points and Miami (4-0) defeated North Carolina-Wilmington, 67-60, in the Charleston Classic . . . Tulane (1-2) beat Penn State, 63-60. Talor Battle led the Nittany Lions (2-2) with 17 points.
* At Daytona Beach, Fla., Tracy Smith had 16 points and 11 rebounds as North Carolina State (2-0) beat Akron, 66-45, at the Glenn Wilkes Classic . . . Anthony Nelson scored 18 points as Niagara (2-1) beat Howard, 82-77.
* At San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors scored 18 points as No. 21 Georgia Tech (2-1) defeated George Mason, 70-62 in the consolation round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off . . . John Holland scored 21 points and Boston University (1-3) rallied to beat Indiana, 71-67.
Noteworthy
* UCLA starting forward Nikola Dragovic was suspended for the Bruins' game against Cal State Bakersfield last night following his arrest earlier in the day on felony assault charges after an incident at a concert last month. *
