'Cuse sets dubious mark in loss to Notre Dame
Notre Dame became the highest-scoring opponent ever to visit the Carrier Dome. After missing their first three three-pointers, the No. 21 Irish went 10-for-14 from behind the arc to close the opening half and beat the host Orange, 103-91, on Tuesday night.
Notre Dame became the highest-scoring opponent ever to visit the Carrier Dome.
After missing their first three three-pointers, the No. 21 Irish went 10-for-14 from behind the arc to close the opening half and beat the host Orange, 103-91, on Tuesday night.
"We got off to a great start and played fearlessly and with great unselfishness," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "We're good offensively. We can put numbers on the board."
West Virginia beat the Orange in Syracuse, 101-79, on Dec. 4, 1979. The Orange lost at De Paul last March 2, 108-69.
Luke Harangody had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead he Irish.
Notre Dame (18-4, 6-3 Big East) won for the first time in four conference road games and halted a three-game losing streak against the reeling Orange (15-7, 4-4), who lost their third straight game.
During the 10-for-14 stretching, Russell Carter and Colin Falls each hit four, and most were wide-open looks against the defenseless Orange.
Notre Dame scored 18 points off 10 Orange turnovers in the half and left the floor with a 61-42 lead, five points off the team record set against Ball State in 1964 and matched in 1986 against Miami.
It also was only four points off the all-time record for points allowed in a half by the Orange. Syracuse gave up 65 in the second half in a 97-85 loss to Navy in March 1986 and hadn't allowed 60 points in the first half of a game since 1988.
Carter finished with 18 points and Falls had 16 before fouling out in the closing minutes.
Demetris Nichols had 29 points to lead Syracuse.
In other games:
* At Florida State, Al Thornton scored 27 points as the Seminoles (16-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated Maryland, 96-79.
* At Colgate, Chris McNaughton had 12 points and nine rebounds and Abe Badmus also had 12 points to lead Bucknell (13-8, 7-1 Patriot League), 56-53.
In women's Top 25 games:
* At Cincinnati, Kalana Greene made three jumpers during an early 19-point run, and No. 6 Connecticut rallied to win, 70-60. The Huskies (19-2, 9-0 Big East) became the 18th team to win 700 games in Division I.
* At Rutgers, Essence Carson scored a career-high 25 points to lead the No. 23 Scarlet Knights (13-6, 6-2 Big East) to a 66-56 win over No. 16 Marquette (19-3, 7-2).
Noteworthy
* South Carolina reserve center Ousmane Konate has left the team for the second time this month and coach Dave Odom says it's unlikely he will play again. Odom said the 6-10 junior from Senegal had personal issues.
* Former Louisville center Ellis Myles joined the Cardinals as assistant strength coach. Coach Rick Pitino hopes Myles can work closely with troubled freshman center Derrick Caracter, who has played in only eight games this season because of off-court issues.
* Ohio State center Greg Oden returned to his childhood home in Terre Haute, Ind., for the funeral of a close friend killed in a car accident last weekend. Travis Smith was a freshman at Ball State and a member of the golf team.
Also, Ohio State junior forward Othello Hunter lost both a grandmother and a grandfather over the past week in their native Africa. *