Syracuse drops Bucknell to remain unbeaten

Bucknell’s Joe Willman hit an early jumper to give his team a two-point lead over No. 1 Syracuse (12-0) Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome. But that was the only lead the Bison (7-5) would see for the rest of the game as the Orange rolled to an easy 80-61 victory. Three SU starters scored in double digits to help the Orange cruise to their twelfth straight win of the season.

Willman’s tally broke a scoreless stalemate, but Syracuse freshman Rakeem Christmas quickly answered, scoring the first seven points for the Orange. Christmas finished the night with a career-high 10 points.

From then on, the Orange kept pouring on the points and the Bison were never able to recover. Every time Bucknell made a shot, Syracuse answered with a few baskets of their own. With 8:43 left in the first half, senior captain Kris Joseph capped off an 8-0 SU run to put the Orange up 21-8. Joseph finished the night with a game-high 17 points, reaching the double-digit mark for the ninth time this season.

The Orange’s largest lead came when Joseph hit two free throws to give the Orange a 47-24 lead with about 17 minutes left in the game. Bucknell would go on to trail by 13 points or more for the rest of the night and would eventually fall to the number one team in the nation.

The rest of the SU starters also had very good nights. Fifth-year senior Scoop Jardine was the third Orange player to score double-digit points, finishing with 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Jardine also tallied four assists and three steals. Sophomore center Fab Melo also had a solid night on the boards, matching a career-high with nine rebounds to go along with eight points.  Junior guard Brandon Triche had six points off of two three-point conversions.

Freshman guard Michael Carter-Williams saw extended minutes in the second-half, leading to a career night for him in points with six points. He also added four assists and three rebounds to his performance.

“It was good to get Michael Carter-Williams an opportunity to make some good plays as well,” SU coach Jim Boeheim said after the game.

While the Orange dominated the offensive side of the ball, Boeheim was concerned about his usually stout defensive unit.

“Our defense wasn’t as active as it has been,” Boeheim said. “We didn’t force many turnovers and that’s how we get going on offense.”

The Orange, who lead the nation in steals, finished with 10 on the night, but only accumulated nine fast-break points.

However, Syracuse’s ability to make shots allowed them to defeat a much weaker Bucknell team. The Orange shot 53 percent from the floor on 23 of 53 shooting. Syracuse also had a decent night from behind the arc, making 47 percent of their shots on 8 of 17 shooting.

Syracuse plays host to Tulane (11-1) Thursday Dec. 22 at the Carrier Dome at 7:00 p.m.