Hurricanes Upset No. 10 Orangemen, 68-57
Feb. 13, 2001
By JOHN KEKIS
AP Sports Writer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In a split second, Darius Rice grew up a little bitmore and sent No. 10 Syracuse down.
With the Orangemen rallying from a seven-point deficit late in the gameTuesday night, Miami’s slick freshman guard calmly passed up a 3-pointer andhit a 17-foot jumper with 3:26 left that sent the Hurricanes to a 68-57 win.
“I just kept my composure,” said Rice, who entered the game connecting on46.3 percent of his 3s in the conference. “Normally, I would have shot it from3, but I always remember coach telling me to pump-fake sometimes. I pump-fakedhim (Preston Shumpert), he went on by, and I knocked it down. It was a greatlook, and I think that was a turning point in the game.”
It was.
Syracuse (19-5, 7-4 Big East) had pulled to 56-54 with 4:24 left on a jumperin the lane by DeShaun Williams after pressing and forcing the Hurricanes(13-10, 5-7) into a shot-clock violation. Miami coach Perry Clark then called atimeout to calm his team and Rice, who finished with 14 points, quickly settledthem down a little bit more.
“We just knew we didn’t have time to be nervous,” said Dwayne Wimbley, whohad 13 points and nine rebounds for Miami. “When you’re on the floor, you justhave to play. You can’t be nervous. You have to do what you have to do towin.”
The Orangemen shot a season-low 30 percent for the game and their long-rangeshooters did them in.
Williams was 2-for-12 from 3-point range and Shumpert was just 1-for-8 asSyracuse connected on only five of their 25 attempts and lost at home for onlythe second time. During one stretch in the second half, Syracuse shot just2-of-13 and still made a game of it until the final five minutes.
“We played good defense,” said Shumpert, who was guarded much of the gameby John Salmons and finished with 11 points on 3-of-19 shooting. “We justdidn’t make enough shots. Down the stretch, me and DeShaun missed some keyshots that could have got us back in the game.”
Both Williams and Shumpert missed 3s after Rice’s jumper, and the Hurricaneshit 10 straight free throws in the final 2:12 to prevent any Syracuse heroics.
“This was one of our grittiest efforts all year, defensively,” Syracusecoach Jim Boeheim said. “When you don’t make shots, it’s hard to go back anddig in. We kept them at bay, but we couldn’t make anything.”
That the victory for Miami came after a disappointing double-overtime lossto St. John’s at home on Saturday made it that much sweeter.
“We’ve been on the road and these kids have learned to play with a lot offpoise,” said Clark, in his first year at Miami. “We’ve lost some games, but Idon’t think we’ve lost confidence.”
James Jones also scored 14 points for Miami and Joe Gordon had 10.
Damone Brown had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Orangemen.
