Johnson and Joseph rally No. 5 Syracuse past Seton Hall, 80-73

Johnson scores 20 as No. 5 Syracuse rallies 80-73

NEWARK, N.J. — Wesley Johnson had 20 points, a career-best 19 rebounds and led a 15-point second-half run that rallied No. 5 Syracuse to an 80-73 victory over Seton Hall on Tuesday night.

Kris Joseph added 16 points and provided the other part of the spark in the big spurt as the Orangemen (13-0, 1-0 Big East) overcame a 12-point first-half deficit and continued their best start since winning their first 19 games to start the 1999-2000 season.

Arinze Onuaku added 12 points and Scoop Jardine had 10, all in the first half, for Syracuse.

Jeremy Hazell, who had a career-best 41 points in an overtime loss to No. 6 West Virginia on Saturday, almost single-handedly kept the Pirates (9-3, 0-2) in the game with 38 points. Herb Pope added 15 points and 17 rebounds, his ninth double-double of the season.

Johnson and Joseph scored all 15 points in Syracuse’s big run that turned a 57-51 deficit into a 66-57 lead with 6:11 to play. Johnson had nine points and Joseph had six.

However, Seton Hall would not go away.

A steal and a three-point play by Hazell cut the margin to 72-68 with 1:09 to play and a rebound follow by Pope made it 73-70 with 31.6 seconds left.

Joseph scored the backbreaker on the ensuing inbounds play, taking a length of the court pass and converting an acrobatic shot into a three-point play.

Andy Rautins followed with a breakaway layup and the Orangemen were home free in the game that featured two of the nation’s top scoring teams.

Seton Hall used a 6-0 run to open a 57-51 lead on a slam by Pope with 12:55 left. The Pirates didn’t score another point for almost 7 minutes.

Joseph started the 15-point run with two free throws and then Johnson followed with a floater and a layup after picking up a loose ball under the basket.

Joseph gave Syracuse the lead with a breakaway jam with 9:24 to go and Johnson followed with a rebound basket. Joseph scored another big dunk on an alley-oop pass and Johnson finished the run with a free throw and a breakaway layup.

Hazell had 20 points in the first half but it wasn’t enough to get the Pirates the lead as Syracuse closed with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 43. Jardine fueled the comeback scoring 10 points in the final 7 minutes.

The key for the Pirates was their ability for second-chance points. They had 14 offensive rebounds that led to 15 points.

The victory was the Orangemen’s fourth straight over Seton Hall and fifth in six games. Syracuse leads the overall series 44-15.