Perimeter Shooting Fuels 'Cuse By FSU, 70-57

Sunday, January 11

Syracuse, N.Y.

8:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(12-4) (3-0)

Florida State

(9-7) (1-2)

Florida State

Syracuse

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

1/11/2015 9:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Cooney drains seven 3-pointers and finishes with a game-high 28 points.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A season-high 28 points from Trevor Cooney powered Syracuse (12-4, 3-0 ACC) past Florida State (9-7, 1-2 ACC), 70-57, on Sunday night in the Carrier Dome. Rakeem Christmas supported the Orange down low with his fifth double-double of the season, contributing 14 points and 11 boards.

'Cuse finished shooting 58.8% from three-point range, hitting 10-of-17 attempts. Cooney led Syracuse with 28 points for his third game with 20-points or more this season. His seven buckets from three-point range was the most any member of the Orange has made this season. The last time a Syracuse player made seven threes in a game was in 2013 when Cooney dropped 27 on Cornell.

Christmas battled on the boards for 14 points and 11 rebounds while Michael Gbinije and Tyler Roberson also contributed on both ends of the court. Gbinije tallied 11 points and was just a board shy of a double-double. Roberson matched Gbinije's rebounding total with nine on the night to go along with five points.

Florida State outmatched 'Cuse in size with six players reaching 6-8 or higher and not a player below six feet tall on the roster, but the Orange remained unfazed throughout the contest. Despite FSU's size advantage, Syracuse out-rebounded the Seminoles, 39-35. The Orange was outscored just 26-18 in the paint with Chris McCullough missing most of the game due to an injury and Rakeem Christmas in foul trouble for the final eight minutes of action.

Threes Falling For The Orange
What started as a close contest quickly tilted in favor of the Orange after a 14-4 run gave it a 26-12 lead with 7:35 left in the stanza. Following the run, Syracuse continued to shoot with a hot hand, entering intermission leading by a 13-point margin thanks to its best 3-point shooting performance in a half this season.

Together, Syracuse shot 54.5% from beyond the arc, knocking down 6-of-11 attempts. The six threes in the half is just second to the 11 threes it tallied in the entire Colgate contest. Cooney was the main contributor on offense recording the most threes he's made in a half this season with four, tying his game-high during the '14-'15 campaign. Overall, Cooney accounted for 42% of Syracuse's offense in the half with 14 points. Gbinije was next in line with seven points.

Syracuse outscored Florida State 10-0 on the fast break and capitalized on its eight turnovers by converting eight points off of the FSU mistakes. The Orange took care of the ball, turning the ball over just twice.

Can't Stop Won't Stop
Syracuse fired out of the break with a 10-3 run in the opening three minutes of action to extend its lead to 43-25. Florida State never pulled within closer than nine points of Syracuse's lead the rest of the way. The Seminoles cut the lead to single digits twice but 'Cuse promptly responded with a burst of scoring to keep FSU at bay.

The first time Florida State cut the lead to nine was with just under 11 minutes left on the clock and 'Cuse answered with a 6-1 run, fueled by four points from Gbinije and a dunk from Christmas. The final push by the Seminoles was with 5:29 to go and Syracuse burst out to its largest lead of the game with an 11-2 run to take an 18-point advantage with a 70-52 score.

'Cuse killed the clock on its ensuing possessions to defeat the Seminoles, 70-57, and remain undefeated in conference play with a 3-0 record.

Bring On The Demon Deacons
Syracuse returns to action on Tuesday, January 13, when Wake Forest (9-8) comes to the Carrier Dome for an 8:00 p.m.