Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMBB | Again, SU struggles vs. press but overcomes 22 turnovers
By John Clayton and Zach Schonbrun
Posted: 3/6/08, 1:01 AM EST Section: Sports
NEWARK, N.J. It wasn't so much that Syracuse was able to beat the Seton Hall press. Outlast would be a more accurate description.
After amassing a 15-point lead heading into halftime, the Orange found itself confronted for much of the second half by the Pirates' press. And much like Saturday against Pittsburgh Ñ when the Panthers' pressure played a large role in SU coughing up an 11-point lead Ñ the young Orange struggled to cope with Seton Hall's high-energy defense.
This time, Syracuse managed to do enough to offset 14 second-half turnovers and hold off the Pirates.
"We played well offensively the last couple of games, but we just made some bad turnovers that cost us Saturday's game and could of cost us tonight," SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. "This is basically what young players do, and sometimes it's difficult to watch."
The Syracuse offense that had been so efficient in the first half suddenly started committing turnovers. Three of those errors helped the Pirates go on a 14-4 run to cut the SU lead seven with 3:35 left, the closest the game had been all half.
But Paul Harris added the next four points for Syracuse, and the Orange did enough down the stretch to preserve the win. That might not have been so, had Seton Hall shot better than 4-of-16 on 3-pointers in the half and just 9-of-34 on treys for the game.
Still, watching Seton Hall score 18 points off turnovers in the second half was enough to further convince the Syracuse that learning how to break the press is something it will have to target in practice.
"We've been working on it in practice," SU point guard Jonny Flynn. "It's going to be a thing a lot of teams are going to be doing. We've just got to look at different ways of breaking the press."
Ongenaet on the mark
Four days after he didn't attempt a shot in 34 minutes against Pittsburgh, Kristof Ongenaet was an offensive spark for Syracuse.
Ongenaet recorded a double-double in the first half Wednesday, tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds in the half. That output included the first six points of the game for Syracuse Ñ points that jump-started an offense that began cold but finished the game shooting better than 50 percent from the field.
After amassing a 15-point lead heading into halftime, the Orange found itself confronted for much of the second half by the Pirates' press. And much like Saturday against Pittsburgh Ñ when the Panthers' pressure played a large role in SU coughing up an 11-point lead Ñ the young Orange struggled to cope with Seton Hall's high-energy defense.
This time, Syracuse managed to do enough to offset 14 second-half turnovers and hold off the Pirates.
"We played well offensively the last couple of games, but we just made some bad turnovers that cost us Saturday's game and could of cost us tonight," SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. "This is basically what young players do, and sometimes it's difficult to watch."
The Syracuse offense that had been so efficient in the first half suddenly started committing turnovers. Three of those errors helped the Pirates go on a 14-4 run to cut the SU lead seven with 3:35 left, the closest the game had been all half.
But Paul Harris added the next four points for Syracuse, and the Orange did enough down the stretch to preserve the win. That might not have been so, had Seton Hall shot better than 4-of-16 on 3-pointers in the half and just 9-of-34 on treys for the game.
Still, watching Seton Hall score 18 points off turnovers in the second half was enough to further convince the Syracuse that learning how to break the press is something it will have to target in practice.
"We've been working on it in practice," SU point guard Jonny Flynn. "It's going to be a thing a lot of teams are going to be doing. We've just got to look at different ways of breaking the press."
Four days after he didn't attempt a shot in 34 minutes against Pittsburgh, Kristof Ongenaet was an offensive spark for Syracuse.
Ongenaet recorded a double-double in the first half Wednesday, tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds in the half. That output included the first six points of the game for Syracuse Ñ points that jump-started an offense that began cold but finished the game shooting better than 50 percent from the field.
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