Golden Eagles  71    Orange  76

Recap: Syracuse vs. Marquette

Sports Network | January 23, 2010

Syracuse, NY (Sports Network) - Wesley Johnson provided 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and added 15 rebounds as the fifth-ranked Syracuse Orange stormed out to a big lead in the second half and held on for a 76-71 win over Marquette.

Kris Joseph added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Syracuse (19-1, 6-1 Big East), which has won six straight and outrebounded the Eagles by a 46-21 margin. Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku each had 12 points in the win. Jackson also added seven blocks in the win.

"We were very motivated today," Joseph said. "It was our first game back from being on the road, the students were back and all of our fans were here. We also made some great defensive stops, which make us want to play better defense for the whole game."

Darius Johnson-Odom poured in 17 points to lead the Golden Eagles (11-8, 2-5), who have lost their five conference games by a combined 11 points. Lazar Hayward contributed with 16 points and eight rebounds, Jimmy Butler had 13 points and Maurice Acker 12 in the setback, Marquette's second straight.

Syracuse ended the first half on a 7-0 run to pull even with Marquette, 34-34, at the game's midway point.

The Orange then began the second half on a 9-3 burst to build a 43-37 advantage on an Onuaku layup nearly four minutes into the period.

Marquette cut its deficit to four, 50-46, on a Dwight Buycks three-pointer, but Syracuse scored the next 12 points to jump in front by 16.

Onuaku, Johnson and Joseph each had a pair of buckets during the nearly five- minute surge, which was ended with an Onuaku jumper for a 62-46 lead with 8 1/2 minutes left.

The lead stood at 68-51 with four minutes left before a furious Marquette rally. The Golden Eagles tallied 13 of the game's next 15 points, and a Johnson-Odom three-pointer had the team to within six with just under two minutes to play.

Paul Harris answered with a layup, then made 3-of-4 shots from the free throw line to restore a nine-point lead for Syracuse, 75-66, with just under 40 seconds to play. It remained a multiple-possession game the rest of the way.

Marquette scored the first five points of the game, but the Orange answered with a 14-4 burst that ended on a Harris jumper 7:20 into the game. The Eagles then scored 11 of the next 13 points, as an Odom three made it 20-16 in favor of the visitors at the midway point.

The lead became seven, 34-27, on an Acker three with 4 1/2 minutes to go, but Syracuse ran off the next seven points, with Johnson's two free throws providing a 34-34 game at halftime.

Marquette is 0-5 on the road this season...Syracuse leads the all-time series with the Eagles, 7-2...The Orange are 12-1 at home...Syracuse shot 58.5 percent, compared to 38.8 percent for Marquette...The Orange had 56 points in the paint, while Marquette had only 22.