March 20th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
Five years. That’s how long it has been since the #3-seeded Syracuse Orange had won a NCAA tournament game – 5 years to the day, actually. But nonetheless, they were looking to correct that transgression as they hosted the #14 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in Miami, FL on Friday. Apparently, a none-too-subtle reminder by players Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris seemed to do the trick for the Orange as they dominated the Lumberjacks, especially in the first half; as it would turn out, Syracuse would cruise to the relatively easy 59-44 win over Stephen F. Austin.
To illustrate how outmatched the Lumberjacks were, they shot only 24.7% and only 60% from the charity stripe; but to be fair, the Orange’s defense played no small part in those paltry numbers. Syracuse would jump to an early 20-4 lead and would never look back against the overmatched Lumberjacks.
Flynn led all Syracuse players with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists but committed 7 turnovers while Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku added 12 each – with Jackson grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists along with a steal and 5 blocks while Onuaku grabbed 7 boards and blocked 2 shots. Harris, while scoring only 6 points, grabbed 16 rebounds.
Stephen F. Austin was led by Benson Akpan with 12 points, 10 rebounds, an assist and a steal while Nick Shaw added 10 with 6 rebounds. Syracuse will host the winner of the Arizona State-Temple game on Sunday.
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