27 November, 2006
by Elliot Smilowitz
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Holy Cross (5-1) |
19 |
45 |
64 |
| Syracuse (7-0) |
31 |
41 |
72 |
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After a poor start, Holy Cross held their own against national powerhouse Syracuse, staying close but dropping a 72-64 decision. Keith Simmons led all scorers with 22 points.
Syracuse sprinted out to a 12-2 early lead, with all five starters scoring points for the Orange. With 2:10 left in the first half, Syracuse led 30-12 but Holy Cross ran off a 7-2 run to end the half. The Crusaders played most of the first half without Tim Clifford, who sat down after picking up his third foul less than 8 minutes into the game.
Syracuse maintained their lead for a while, and held a 53-39 advantage with 9:40 left. Colin Cunningham hit a bucket, and Simmons followed with a three to bring the Crusader deficit back to single digits, and began climbing into the game over the last few minutes. Holy Cross came as close as 4 points away in the final minute but could never pull within one possession.
Simmons and Cunningham (11 points) were the only Crusaders in double digits. Alex Vander Baan chipped in 8 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late. Syracuse was led by Demitris Nichols’s 21 points.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With 3:23 left in the game, Cunningham was fouled and hit 3 free throws to bring the score to 62-55. Darryl Watkins missed a shot for the Orange, and Holy Cross had the ball with a chance to make it a two-possession game. However, Nichols stole the ball and scored 2 in transition, reclaiming the momentum for Syracuse and sending the Crusaders into a timeout.
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| Key sign it was over |
Simmons hit a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left to make it a 67-62 game. Syracuse overthrew the inbounds pass, creating a scrum under the basket. A Crusader ended up with the ball and passed it out to Pat Doherty, with a chance to make it a 2-point game. Doherty badly missed the trey attempt. Nichols rebounded, and from that point on, Syracuse was 5-of-6 from the free throw line while Holy Cross didn’t hit another field goal.
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| Key performance |
Nichols scored 21, including 4-of-5 on threes. He added 6 boards and 3 steals.
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| Key statistic |
The Orange took 16 more free throw attempts than Holy Cross. Syracuse finished 26-for-35 from the line, the Crusaders 14-for-19.
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| Notes |
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Simmons was 7-for-11 on two-pointers but 2-for-7 on treys.
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| – |
Holy Cross outrebounded Syracuse 32-30. Torey Thomas grabbed 9 boards for the Crusaders from the backcourt.
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Thomas played a strong defensive game (9 rebounds, 2 steals) but shot 2-of-10 from the field, finishing with 6 points.
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Both teams played short benches. Syracuse got 8 bench points from 3 players, and the Crusaders got 12 points from 4 players.
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Holy Cross has just one home game and nine road games in the next six weeks. Meanwhile, on Dec. 9, fellow Patriot Leaguer Colgate will be following the Crusaders to the Carrier Dome.
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