Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMBB | Smooth sailing: Complete effort in 1st half led by Greene sends SU to victory
By Matt Gelb
Posted: 11/16/07, 10:33 PM EST Section: Sports
Three Syracuse players - Greene, Eric Devendorf (17 points) and Arinze Onuaku (12 points) - scored in double figures. Greene finished one rebound shy of his first double-double.
The 6-foot-11 freshman paced Syracuse in the beginning of the game, when Fordham started out hot. The Rams made their first three shots, all 3-pointers, against Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense. So less than three minutes into the game, Boeheim switched to man and Fordham scored a total of 20 points over the final 17 minutes of the half.
Still, a pesky Fordham team stayed within 15 points for much of the second half with timely 3-point shooting. The Rams attempted a whopping 29 3's and made 11 of them. But a Greene 3-pointer with 12:22 left in the game made the score 57-41 and the comeback effort was stifled.
Syracuse's first half effort was too much for Fordham to overcome.
"I thought we did a good job defensively, got some fast-break baskets and made some good offensive plays," Boeheim said of the first half.
Syracuse's run-and-gun offense was functioning in full force. Flynn had eight assists opposed to zero turnovers and more than once fed Onuaku and Rick Jackson down low. Jackson was perfect in the first half, going 4-for-4 from the field for nine points.
Flynn even added some flair of his own with a steal and a slam with 7:08 remaining in the first half to cap a 14-3 Syracuse run and push the score to 30-21 Orange.
"When we get in our runs in the game and start running up and down the floor, it's like poetry in motion almost," Flynn said. "Just throwing no look passes, knowing somebody's gonna be there. You got dunks, crazy moves, our team is just a great team to watch."
So now Greene will call Anthony, the man who brought SU's national title as a freshman in 2003, and tell him to watch that new blood at Syracuse.
Oh, he'll take some more advice, too.
"That's my big brother," Greene said of Anthony. "He looks out for me. He's not going to kiss my butt. He's in the NBA. He knows what it takes to get there, so let me know, I'm trying to get there."
The 6-foot-11 freshman paced Syracuse in the beginning of the game, when Fordham started out hot. The Rams made their first three shots, all 3-pointers, against Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense. So less than three minutes into the game, Boeheim switched to man and Fordham scored a total of 20 points over the final 17 minutes of the half.
Still, a pesky Fordham team stayed within 15 points for much of the second half with timely 3-point shooting. The Rams attempted a whopping 29 3's and made 11 of them. But a Greene 3-pointer with 12:22 left in the game made the score 57-41 and the comeback effort was stifled.
Syracuse's first half effort was too much for Fordham to overcome.
"I thought we did a good job defensively, got some fast-break baskets and made some good offensive plays," Boeheim said of the first half.
Syracuse's run-and-gun offense was functioning in full force. Flynn had eight assists opposed to zero turnovers and more than once fed Onuaku and Rick Jackson down low. Jackson was perfect in the first half, going 4-for-4 from the field for nine points.
Flynn even added some flair of his own with a steal and a slam with 7:08 remaining in the first half to cap a 14-3 Syracuse run and push the score to 30-21 Orange.
"When we get in our runs in the game and start running up and down the floor, it's like poetry in motion almost," Flynn said. "Just throwing no look passes, knowing somebody's gonna be there. You got dunks, crazy moves, our team is just a great team to watch."
So now Greene will call Anthony, the man who brought SU's national title as a freshman in 2003, and tell him to watch that new blood at Syracuse.
Oh, he'll take some more advice, too.
"That's my big brother," Greene said of Anthony. "He looks out for me. He's not going to kiss my butt. He's in the NBA. He knows what it takes to get there, so let me know, I'm trying to get there."
Be the first to comment on this story