SOUTH BEND - Wishes rolled around the Notre Dame men’s basketball locker room late Monday so often that there could have been a well filled with loose coins in one corner. Tim Abromaitis wished he could have handled the ball better late in a close game. Luke Harangody wished he could have made a better decision in transition. And Tory Jackson wished he could have generated a cleaner look when the visitors were on their heels. In the end, Notre Dame was left to wonder what might have been against No. 5 Syracuse, which continued to steam-roll through Big East play away from home with an 84-71 victory at Purcell Pavilion. “We had some key possessions where (we were) down two, down four, you know, as a group, as a whole, we didn’t make the best decisions on possessions,” Harangody said. “Just (bad) decisions and key offensive rebounds kind of put it away in the end.” The Orange registered 13 offensive rebounds, 30 points in the paint and 16 second-chance points, numbers that aren’t enough to crush a home team in league play. But when it comes from the one that may be playing better than anyone, perhaps in all of college basketball, it makes everything too tough to overcome. “It can get a little frustrating, but you can’t show it,” Jackson said. “You do, they take advantage of it. And a great team like that, they will take advantage of it. “They did exactly that. They’re one of the best athletic teams I’ve ever seen.” Jackson had a career-high 15 assists, tops of any Big East player this season. “Jackson did something that nobody’s ever done against us getting that deep into the lane and making those passes he made,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “If they hadn’t done that, it would have been a tough game.” Harangody delivered the 60th double-double of his career with a team-high 31 points and 14 rebounds. Abromaitis added 26, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Irish from falling to 14-5 overall, 3-3 in the Big East. It was Notre Dame’s second-straight league loss. Winners of three straight league road games - Rutgers, West Virginia, Notre Dame - Syracuse moved to 18-1, 5-1. The Orange are the second league team this season, along with Pittsburgh, to win three in a row on the road in conference play. “I’m ready,” Boeheim said wearily, “to go home.” Wesley Johnson led three Orange in double figures with 22 points. Andy Rautins added 21. The Irish trailed by 11 early in the second half before getting as close as four. It became a two-point game when Jackson sank a pair of free throws after absorbing an elbow to the jaw from Rautins, who was trying to clear space after rebounding a Harangody miss. At that point - down a basket and still 9:47 left - the Irish felt they were in position to make one of their patented runs at home in a league game. While Notre Dame would grind toward another gear, Syracuse seamlessly stuck it into overdrive. Less than three minutes later, the Orange were up eight. It wasn’t so much that Syracuse had the better athletes, had the deeper bench and could play at a level that the Irish simply could not reach that frustrated the guys in the home locker room. It was that when it came time to make key plays - winning plays at winning time - the Irish could not figure it out. “It almost felt like those were decisions we might make on the road,” Harangody said. “We seemed to be pretty poised at home.” It started with Jackson’s off-balance double-pump baseline jumper that sailed wide of the rim when the Irish trailed 55-53. Afterward, Jackson admitted that he would prefer to have that possession back. It continued with Abromaitis and Harangody each fumbling balls away on the break. And it ended time and time again with the Orange crashing the offensive glass for second chances off missed shots and free throws. In the end, it just demoralized everyone in the building not wearing orange. “They played like men for 40 (minutes). We probably played like men for 32,” said Irish coach Mike Brey. “That ain’t going to get it. Not against them.”
- SYRACUSE 84, NOTRE DAME 71 At Purcell Pavilion SYRACUSE (18-1): Rick Jackson 2-4 2-2 6, Wesley Johnson 8-15 4-6 22, Ariinze Onuaku 4-7 5-9 13, Andy Rautins 5-9 6-6 21, Brandon Triche 2-8 3-3 8, Scoop Jardine 2-4 2-2 6, Kris Joseph 3-6 2-3 8. Totals 26-53 24-31 84. NOTRE DAME (14-5): Ty Nash 0-3 1-2 1, Tim Abromaitis 10-17 1-2 26, Luke Harangody 13-26 4-4 31, Tory Jackson 0-7 2-2 2, Ben Hansbrough 2-7 3-3 9, Jonathan Peoples 0-2 0-0 0, Carleton Scott 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 26-67 11-13 71. Halftime - Syracuse 39-32. 3-Point Goals - Syracuse 8-17 (Rautins 5-9, Johnson 2-4, Triche 1-4), Notre Dame 8-30 (Abromaitis 5-11, Hansbrough 2-7, Harangody 1-5, Scott 0-2, Peoples 0-2, Jackson 0-3). Fouled Out - None. Rebounds - Syracuse 38 (Johnson 8), Notre Dame 35 (Harangody 14). Assists - Syracuse 19 (Jardine 6), Notre Dame 22 (Jackson 15). Total Fouls - Syracuse 14, Notre Dame 23. A - 9,149. e 23. A - 9
Staff writer Tom Noie: tnoie@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6153
