Johnson has 17 and Joseph 15 to lead No. 7 Syracuse over Memphis 74-57

No. 7 Syracuse beats Memphis 74-57

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Wes Johnson had 19 points, Kris Joseph added 15 in the second half, and No. 7 Syracuse beat Memphis 74-57 on Wednesday night.

It was the final nonconference game of the season for Syracuse (14-1), which was coming off an 82-72 home loss to Pittsburgh. The first-ever game in the Carrier Dome for Memphis (10-4) was one the Tigers would like to forget.

Roburt Sallie led Memphis with 17 points but fouled out in the closing minutes, Wesley Witherspoon had 12, and Elliot Williams finished with a season-low 10. Williams, averaging nearly 20 points, had only one basket in the decisive second half, and his missed dunk helped spur the Orange.

Trailing by three points early in the second half, Williams missed a wide-open slam and Syracuse scored nine of the next 10 points to pull away.

Andy Rautins had 11 points and seven assists, and Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku each had 10 points for Syracuse, which limited Memphis to 2-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc in the second half after getting burned for seven 3s in the first.

Tied 32-all at halftime, Rautins and Brandon Triche both hit 3s and Johnson had a one-handed dunk after Jackson corralled the second of two missed free throws by Onuaku to give Syracuse a 40-35 lead with 16:38 left.

A reverse layup by Williams and a follow by Witherspoon brought Memphis within a point.

Johnson’s layup gave the Orange a three-point lead, but when Rautins threw the ball away on Syracuse’s next possession, Williams sailed down court alone, ready to cut the lead back to one.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, irate at the turnover, ripped off his sports jacket in disgust, threw it down and turned away toward the bench. He missed the turning point of the game.

Williams, who began the game with a resounding two-handed slam dunk, hit the back of the rim as he tried another and watched as the ball sailed high above the backboard and then harmlessly to the court.

Syracuse responded by scoring nine of the next 10 points to take an 11-point lead. A scoop in the lane by Johnson and a basket from the left corner by Rautins gave the Orange a 51-40 lead with 11:07 left and the Tigers never got closer than eight again.

The last time the teams met the Tigers attempted 33 3-pointers and made seven, missing 18 of 19 at one point in a 72-65 loss at FedExForum in December 2008. But Sallie was 4 of 4 from beyond the arc in a seesaw opening half as Memphis went 7 of 15 from long range, repeatedly passing the ball around patiently looking for the open man against the zone. The Tigers held the biggest lead of the half at 12-5 after Witherspoon’s turnaround jumper from the foul line just over 6 minutes in.

Syracuse, just 1 of 13 from beyond the arc in its loss to Pitt, responded with a 10-2 spurt, keyed by its resurgent outside shooting. Scoop Jardine hit a 3 from the top of the key, then stole the ball from Williams and passed to Rautins on the right wing, and he swished another.

After a 3 by Sallie gave Memphis a 32-27 lead with 1:40 left, Syracuse tied it on a dunk by Onuaku and a 3 from the left wing by Rautins with 3.8 seconds left.