Top 25 men: No. 9 Syracuse drops No. 25 Notre Dame
BY Associated Press
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
2/05/13 at 5:57 AM
C.J. Fair had 18 points and 10 rebounds, freshman Jerami Grant scored a season-high 14 points, and No. 9 Syracuse beat No. 25 Notre Dame 63-47 on Monday night in Syracuse, N.Y., to snap a two-game losing streak.
Syracuse (19-3, 7-2 Big East) was coming off consecutive road losses against Villanova and Pittsburgh and has only three conference losses in its last 32 Big East games. The Orange have won a school-record 36 straight games at home, the longest active streak in Division I. Notre Dame (18-5, 6-4) had won three straight.
It was the first meeting between the teams since the Irish handed Syracuse its only conference loss last season, 67-58 at Purcell Pavilion last January. The Orange, unbeaten at the time and ranked No. 1, were missing shot-blocking, 7-foot center Fab Melo in that game because of an academic issue, and on Monday night senior James Southerland, the team's most consistent outside threat and third-leading scorer, missed his sixth straight game because of an eligibility matter related to academics. Southerland had 15 points in the loss to the Irish last year.
On this night, it didn't matter as the Syracuse defense clamped down. Notre Dame finished 6-of-20 on 3-pointers and shot 34.6 percent (18 of 52) for the game as the Orange outrebounded the Irish 32-28 and blocked seven shots. It matched the season low for points for the Irish, who were held to 47 in a home loss two weeks ago to Georgetown.
No. 23 Pittsburgh 56, Seton Hall 46: At Pittsburgh, Lamar Patterson scored 11 points as Pittsburgh pulled away late for the win.
Freshman center Steven Adams added eight points, 15 rebounds and two blocks for the Panthers (19-5, 7-4 Big East), who won for the sixth time in their last seven games.
Cameron Wright scored six of his eight points during a game-ending 18-8 surge that prevented Pitt from suffering a letdown following an emotional win over Syracuse on Saturday.
Fuquan Edwin led the Pirates (13-10, 2-8) with 23 points but was slowed after injuring his right ankle midway through the second half. Seton Hall shot just 33 percent (14 of 42) from the field.
Original Print Headline: Syracuse drops Notre Dame
