No. 5 Syracuse pulls away from pesky Bonnies in second half for 85-72 win

No. 5 Syracuse pulls away from Bonnies, 85-72

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Rick Jackson scored 18 points, Wes Johnson and Kris Joseph added 17 each, and No. 5 Syracuse pulled away in the second half for an 85-72 victory over St. Bonaventure on Saturday night.

Andrew Nicholson and Chris Matthews kept it close for the Bonnies, who trailed 39-35 at halftime. Matthews hit three 3-pointers and Nicholson scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half before being ejected with 8:29 left in the game for committing a flagrant foul on Andy Rautins.

Nicholson’s foul came after the Syracuse guard hit consecutive 3-pointers in a 15-second span to give the Orange (11-0) a 69-54 lead with 9:19 left.

Matthews finished with 17 points, while Jonathan Hall added 10 for the Bonnies (6-4), who are 0-9 in the Carrier Dome.

Rautins finished with 11 points.

After a 3-pointer by St. Bonaventure’s Demetrius Conger and Jackson’s jumper made it 71-57, Rautins went down on the floor after he and Nicholson tangled. After the referees reviewed the play, Nicholson, who averages 15.3 points, was thrown out of the game.

With their 6-9 center out, the Bonnies had a tough time handling Jackson and Johnson, who each finished with 10 rebounds. After the Bonnies pulled within 79-67 with 2:41 left, Johnson and Joseph scored consecutive baskets to put the game away.

St. Bonaventure, losers of 12 straight to the Orange, trailed 18-11 before rallying to take 35-32 lead on Nicholson’s jumper with 3:34 left in the first half. Jackson’s layup and Johnson’s 3-pointer handed the lead back to the Orange with 1:57 left, before Joseph’s two free throws finished the scoring for the half.

Syracuse got consecutive 3-pointers from Brandon Trite in the second half for a 51-39 lead with 15:36 to play, but the Bonnies got within nine on Conger’s layup with 10:47 left.

Syracuse led by seven twice in the first half, the second time on two free throws by Joseph that gave the Orange a 20-13 edge.

St. Bonaventure then outscored Syracuse 20-10 to take it’s first lead since scoring the game’s first basket. Matthews’ consecutive 3-pointers tied it at 28, and after the teams traded baskets, Matthews hit another 3 to make it 33-30 with 4:49 to play in the half.