Shorthanded Syracuse Defeats DePaul

With a rotation of just seven players, the Syracuse Orange walked away with their first Big East conference road victory as they defeated the DePaul Blue Demons 60-55 at Allstate Arena on Wednesday night.

The Orange (15-7, 5-4) won a game that was a close battle throughout where the lead changed eight times. The largest lead for either team came when DePaul led by eight with 8:23 to play in the first half.

DePaul (9-11, 4-4) had no answer inside for Syracuse big man Arinze Onuaku who led all scorers with 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Onuaku came into the game ranked third in the nation in field goal percentage.

“I thought (Onuaku) was active down there and we did a much better job of looking for him and getting him the ball down there,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.

“We lost the battle at the five spot,” admitted DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright.

“(Onuaku) played a great game tonight,” said DePaul senior Karron Clarke. “If we would have defended him a little better, I think we’d have a better game.”

Freshman sensation Donte Green scored 14 points for the Orange, while sophomore Paul Harris chipped in with 10 points.

Sophomore guard Will Walker led the way for the Blue Demons, scoring 14 points, while picking up three assists and three steals.

“(Walker) has been playing solid and did a really good job,” Wainright said. “It was a game where we could afford to use him with the other perimeter guys. He had three assists. I really thought he had the potential to get three or four more. He delivered the ball, especially down low with some really good decisions and really good judgments.”

Freshman captain Mac Koshwal scored 11 points on five of 13 shooting. Clarke contributed with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Both teams had a terrible night from beyond the arc. Syracuse shot a paltry 7.7% from three, while DePaul shot 16.7% on trifectas.

Foul calls made a difference in this outcome. The Orange managed to get to the free throw line 19 times in the contest, while DePaul made just four trips to the charity stripe.

“You can’t control the whistle,” Wainwright said. “You can’t control how the game is going to be called. But, you can control your own play.”

Junior Matija Poscic returned to the lineup after sitting out the previous game at Marquette. Poscic had injured his back while diving for a loose ball in practice. Matija managed four points in 14 minutes of play and appeared to be struggling. “He was in obvious pain, he really tried to gut it out,” Wainwright observed.

From here the Blue Demons are on to a two game road trip at Notre Dame on Saturday evening and a return matchup at Providence on Tuesday night.

Game Notes from DePaul Sports Information

With eight points, DePaul’s Draelon Burns moved to 30th on the the school’s all-time scoring list. He passed Andre Brown (2000-04) and Quentin Richardson (1998-00). Burns entered the contest with 1,143 points... Will Walker’s 14 points, marked the 10th time the sophomore has scored in double-figures in his career. Walker has done it eight times this season with a career-high 19 points vs. Florida Gulf Coast on Monday Jan. 21, 2008.... the Blue Demons are 3-6 when trailing at the half while Syracuse is now 14-3 when leading at the half... with 10 points and 11 rebounds, Karron Clarke registered his second double-double of the season. He scored 11 points and had 11 rebounds against Mississippi on December. 20 and now has four career double-doubles... DePaul took a season-low four free throws and made all four... Syracuse was just 1-13 (.077) from behind the three point line. The Orange’s previous season-low three made three point field goals which it has done five times. The last was against Villanova on January 19.

Box Score