SYRACUSE, N.Y. ‘ Five Syracuse players scored in double figures as the Orangemen rolled to an 101-63 win over ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ (5-4) Monday night at the Carrier Dome. The defending NCAA national champions improved to 6-1 with their 38th straight win over the Raiders.
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Leading the Orangemen in scoring was Kakim Warrick with 17 points, followed by Gerry McNamara and Billy Edelin with 14 apiece, Josh Pace with 11 and Demetris Nichols with 10.
¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ was led by senior guard Mark Linebaugh with 23 points, including five 3-pointers, and Howard Blue with 16. Freshman Kendall Chones scored a career-high nine points and grabbed a team leading seven rebounds.
With the score tied 4-4, the Orangemen went on a 23-7 run to open a 16-point advantage with 12:46 remaining in the first half. Pace had seven points in the run, while Warrick tossed in six points. Syracuse extended its first half lead to 23 points before settling for a 52-30 halftime advantage.
¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ shot 40 percent against the taller Orangemen, while Syracuse made 57 percent of its shots including 58 points in the paint.
The Raiders will break for Christmas before traveling to Long Beach State on Dec. 30 for the first of two games in California. ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ also visits Loyola of Marymount on Jan. 2.