Recap: Syracuse vs. Butler
Sports Network | March 26, 2010
Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - The sophomore duo of Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack combined for 31 points, as fifth-seeded Butler rallied to post a 63-59 upset win over top-seeded Syracuse in the Midwest Region semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
While Mack scored all 14 of his points in the first half, Hayward carried the load in the second and finished with 17, including three free throws during the Bulldogs' 13-5 run to end the game.
"I was really proud of their moxy," Butler head coach Brad Stevens said of his players. "We've said this word over and over in Indianapolis and that is 'resolve.' These guys have resolve. Hard to measure, but they got it."
Willie Veasley chipped in 13 points and rattled in a huge three-pointer on the game-sealing flurry, as Butler (31-4), winners of 23 straight, advanced to its first ever regional final, where it will meet Kansas State on Saturday. The third-seeded Wildcats survived a double overtime thriller, 101-96, against Xavier in Thursday's nightcap at EnergySolutions Arena.
Wes Johnson, the Big East Player of the Year, recorded 17 points and nine rebounds for the Orange (30-5), who turned the ball over 18 times and forced just seven Butler giveaways to fall short in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
"The game was a story of turnovers," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. "[Butler] didn't make turnovers. They were really good with the basketball. We made 18 turnovers. You can't give away that many possessions."
Andy Rautins and Scoop Jardine added 15 and 14 points, respectively, for Syracuse, which recovered from a 10-point halftime deficit before fading in the final minutes.
Butler, the Horizon League champs, trailed 54-50 for two minutes of game time before Ronald Nored launched a long three for a one-point contest with 3:14 remaining, jump-starting the crucial stretch run.
Matt Howard put in the go-ahead lay-in between unsuccessful Syracuse trips, and Veasley's try from the left wing kicked off the rim and high off the backboard before dropping through for a 58-54 advantage with 1:48 to play.
"[The shot] kind of made us wait a little bit because it bounced around and then went in. But it was just more relief," recalled Veasley of the big basket. "[It] got us sparked again on defense. We knew we had to continue getting stops after that."
After Rautins missed from the left wing, a long Butler possession ended in a Veasley tip-in of a Mack miss with 59 seconds on the clock.
Jardine's errant three forced Syracuse to foul the rest of the way. Hayward made 3-of-4 from the stripe between a quick layup from Jardine, who added another deuce for a 63-58 score with 23.8 seconds showing.
Mack was then short on the front end of a 1-and-1 to give the Orange a chance. Johnson was fouled cleaning up a Jardine miss and hit the first from the line with 12.7 left before missing the second. Rick Jackson had a chance to secure the rebound but Veasley knocked the ball away and was fouled.
Even though Veasley missed both freebies, Jardine turned the ball over in the waning seconds, sending the Bulldogs' bench into celebration.
Butler, which recorded wins over UTEP and Murray State to advance to its fourth-ever Sweet 16, held the Orange without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the game.
Mack and Hayward each hit from behind the arc during the 12-1 opening, but Syracuse, which had little trouble downing Vermont and Gonzaga to reach Salt Lake City, inched back to within 13-8 on two Johnson free throws near the midway point.
Mack then got going with buckets on three straight possessions, as his three- point play resulted in a 24-14 score with 6:38 to go before the break. The Bulldogs went into the locker room on top, 35-25, the biggest halftime deficit the Orange faced all season.
Rautins started the second-half scoring with a three-ball and hit another from long range to spark an 8-0 spurt a little later. Johnson's dunk off an inbounds pass and straightaway trifecta on consecutive possessions ended the quick push and gave Syracuse its first lead, 40-39, with 13:27 left.
Coming out of a timeout, Hayward went on a personal 9-3 flurry to put the Bulldogs back on top, though a Jardine three and Johnson jumper tied things at 48-all with just over eight minutes to play.
Two Veasley free throws and Johnson's 1-for-2 showing at the stripe had Butler holding a 50-49 lead with 7:30 on the clock.
After Mack missed consecutive deep tries, Rautins made a go-ahead three, his fourth of the game. Butler's Zach Hahn then rushed a try 10 feet behind the arc that fell short, and Kris Joseph's dunk in transition gave the Orange a 54-50 edge with 5:19 left.
Butler, which hasn't lost a game since bowing to UAB in non-conference action back on December 22nd, broke the school record for wins set in 2007-08... Syracuse played without starting center Arinze Onuaku, who had not played or practiced since suffering a right quadriceps injury two weeks ago...These two teams met just once before, with Syracuse winning the 2002 NIT showdown...The Orange won the battle on the glass, 38-28...Howard totaled nine points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.
