PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -- Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim had the look
of someone who had just gotten away with something.
|  | | Jeremy McNeil and the Orangemen were slamming Rutgers early, but it was the Scarlet Knights who almost had the last laugh. |
His Orangemen (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) were able to withstand a long
second-half scoring drought and still beat Rutgers 64-63 Tuesday
night, their fifth straight victory.
"When you don't score for 10 minutes on the road and win, I
guess you should say, 'Well, we'll take it,"' Boeheim said with a
sly smile and a shrug of the shoulders.
DeShaun Williams' 3-pointer with 2:01 to play was Syracuse's
only field goal over the final nine minutes.
Syracuse (14-1, 3-0 Big East) seemed to have the game in control
when Damone Brown scored down low with 9:21 left to give the
Orangemen a 57-42 lead.
Rutgers (8-6, 0-3) then went on a 16-0 run as the Orangemen
missed 13 straight shots and committed two turnovers.
"We had a 15-point lead and they went back to the matchup zone.
We got some good looks, we just didn't knock anything down,"
Boeheim said. "We made one big play at the end when they got the
lead. DeShaun had probably the toughest 3 and he knocked it down."
Todd Billet started the Scarlet Knights' run with a jumper and a
3-pointer and it ended with another 3 by the sophomore guard and
two free throws by Kareem Wright, who was pressed into the starting
lineup because center Rashod Kent was suffering from flulike
symptoms.
Wright's free throws with 3:01 left gave Rutgers a 58-57 lead,
its first since 4-2.
Williams finally broke Syracuse's drought when he hit the
3-pointer with 2:01 to play to give the Orangemen the lead for good
at 60-58.
Williams was 1-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line when he let
the game-winner go.
"I was just trying to find my rhythm the whole game," he said.
"When I was missing early coach said to keep shooting. If I miss
10 in a row I feel I'm going to make the next 10 in a row."
Mike Sherrod of Rutgers made one free throw with 1:00 left to
make it a one-point game, but Kueth Duany made four free throws,
the last two on a 1-and-1 with 7.5 second left to give the
Orangemen a 64-61 lead.
Billet's 3-point attempt with two seconds left bounced off the
rim and Wright laid it in for the final margin.
Duany led the Orangemen with 16 points, while Allen Griffin and
Preston Shumpert added 12 each and Williams and Brown each had 10.
"Kueth was huge the whole game but to go to the line and knock
down four free throws, that's pretty big time," Boeheim said.
"Not that many guys coming off the bench can do that."
Duany said the free throws weren't that big a deal.
"I've been shooting free throws all my life and I'm confident
at the line," said Duany, who entered the game shooting 81 percent
from the free throw line. "Everything gets blocked out and it's
just me and the basket."
Billet and Wright finished with 20 points each for Rutgers and
Wright had 13 rebounds. Wright's previous career-high was nine
points and he had that with six minutes left in the first half. He
finished 10-for-11 from the free throw line, a very impressive
performance considering he was 9-for-22 (41 percent) entering the
game.
"I found out I was going to start right before the buzzer,"
Wright said. "I felt today was going to be my day last night when
I went to bed early. I just tried to help my team and do the things
I haven't been doing, rebounding and hitting free throws."
Rutgers' three conference losses have been by a total of 12
points.
"We are competing with ranked teams and we're not winning and
we're not satisfied with just staying close," Billet said. "If we
keep competing this way the wins will take care of themselves."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Syracuse Clubhouse
Rutgers Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Todd Billet's desperation 3-pointer with two seconds left falls short.
avi: 1287 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Preston Shumpert and Todd Billet trade long-range 3-pointers.
avi: 783 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kareem Wright puts back his own miss for 2 of his career-high 20 points.
avi: 1167 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Syracuse's Preston Shumpert gathers the alley-oop and lays it in.
avi: 866 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Syracuse's Kueth Duany finishes the break with a baseline jam.
avi: 809 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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