Wisconsin Green Bay Wis.-G. Bay/Syracuse Syracuse Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

Preston Shumpert scored 19 points and Damone Brown and DeShaun Williams each had 16 as No. 12 Syracuse beat the hot-shooting Phoenix 69-57 on Saturday.

It was the first game for Syracuse (9-0) in 11 days, and the Orangemen were victimized on 10 3-pointers by the Phoenix (3-7). But Syracuse was just too experienced, too fast, and too good for Wisconsin-Green Bay, which started two sophomores and three freshmen and lost its fifth straight.

Syracuse, which changed defenses throughout the game, finished with 11 blocks, seven steals and just six turnovers while forcing Wisconsin-Green Bay into 15 turnovers.

"We played very well offensively," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We took good care of the ball, we were patient and we got the ball to people. But give Wisconsin-Green Bay a lot of credit. They're very patient. They wait, they wait and they get their one or two guys open who can shoot -- and those guys can shoot."

That would be Chris Sager and Aaron Shaw, who were 9-for-14 on 3-pointers.

"We did a nice job at times, and then at times we struggled," Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Mike Heideman said. "We had nobody to match up. Shumpert pretty much owned the floor."

Syracuse gave notice quickly that it wouldn't be fazed too much by the deliberate, slow-down game of the Phoenix. The Orangemen pressed and trapped after the opening tap, and the Phoenix quickly got flustered, falling behind 14-4 in the first six minutes.

Syracuse had two steals and 7-foot center Billy Celuck had two of three straight blocks by the Orangemen during the span. A fast-break layup by Allen Griffin after Celuck's second block gave Syracuse a 14-4 edge.

But the Phoenix settled down, played their deliberate style and rallied back. A 3-pointer by Shaw pulled them within 16-12 midway through the first half.

"I think we did all right," said Sager, who had six 3-pointers and led Wisconsin-Green Bay with 20 points. "We're confident shooters. We move the ball and we're good with the ball. We just got open."

A jumper from the top of the key by Griffin and a layup by Williams gave Syracuse a 41-27 halftime lead.

Syracuse faltered at the start of the second half, and the Phoenix hung in there, pulling within 54-44 on a fast-break layup by Shaw midway through.

"This was a tough game," Boeheim said. "They make you play and they make you work hard to get a shot. We didn't get anything because we were bigger than them."

Syracuse did a get an 11-0 run in the closing minutes to put the game away. Brown and Shumpert each had five points in the spurt.

"We sort of thought that maybe they'd break," Shumpert said. "But you've got to give them credit, they weren't breaking at all. They were still trying to knock down shots and stick with their game plan, and that's what helped them so much. They got on a little run and we had to come back and get focused."

For Syracuse, Brown also had 10 rebounds and Griffin had seven points, six assists and no turnovers. In the last four games, Griffin has 34 assists and just two turnovers.

ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard

Wisconsin Green Bay Clubhouse

Syracuse Clubhouse