Syracuse holds off West Virginia, 63-61
Share with others:
Brandon Triche is Syracuse's top free-throw shooter, and in his mind if the first one he takes in a game feels good he's going to have a good game at the line.
With West Virginia and the third-ranked Orange clawing for a victory and the score tied with 88 seconds left, Triche made two free throws -- his only attempts of the game -- and Syracuse held on for a 63-61 victory Saturday at Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
"It just happened to be me [Saturday]," said Triche, who led the Orange (22-1, 9-1) with 18 points. "We showed heart, mental toughness."
After Triche's free throws -- he's 38 of 44 on the season -- the Mountaineers (15-7, 5-4) missed four consecutive shots, including an airball 3 by Darryl "Truck" Bryant and an attempt on the follow by Deniz Kilicli, who caught the ball under the basket. Playing with four fouls, Syracuse center Baye Keita helped deny Kilicli's shot and appeared to get away with goaltending that wasn't called. It was goaltending according to West Virginia coach Bob Huggins.
" ... I know it was. I saw the replay," Huggins said.
Kris Joseph snared the crucial rebound for Syracuse but lost the ball out of bounds with 6.2 seconds left, giving West Virginia one last shot.
Unable to drive the lane as planned, Jabarie Hinds passed to Kevin Jones in the left corner, and his desperation 3 at the buzzer fell short.
• Duke 83, St. John's 76: Mason Plumlee had 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, and No. 8 Duke (18-3) held on to beat visiting St. John's (9-12).
• Marquette 82, Villanova 78: Darius Johnson-Odom had 26 points to help No. 17 Marquette (18-4, 7-2) storm back from an 18-point deficit and beat host Villanova (10-12, 3-7).
First Published January 29, 2012 12:00 am
