The Syracuse Orange used a two-touchdown second half Saturday to down the Stony Brook Seawolves, 28-17, at the Carrier Dome. The victory was the Orange's first of the 2012-13 season, but it didn't come easy against the Football Championship Subdivision foe that had a 17-14 lead at halftime.
Senior quarterback Ryan Nassib completed 22 of 35 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns for Syracuse (1-2), which put away the gritty Seawolves (2-1) with a five-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that was capped with 5 minutes, 53 seconds to go in the game by a 19-yard catch by senior wide receiver Marcus Sales. Sales finished with five catches for 117 yards.
Trailing 17-14 at halftime, Syracuse kicked itself into gear scoring on its first possession of the second half. The Orange marched 85 yards in nine plays to take a 21-17 lead just 3:33 into the second half. Junior wide receiver Jarrod West ended the drive with a 13-yard touchdown catch.
The final score could have favored SU more, but the Orange failed to score on two possession that drove inside Stony Brook's two-yard line. Syracuse kicker Ross Krautman also missed two field goals in the first half.
All-in-all, the game was a tale of two halves. Syracuse out gained Stony Brook 329-49 in total yards in the second half, while the Orange defense never let the Seawolves offense get march into SU territory.
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