The Syracuse basketball program used a team effort Wednesday night to earn a 66-58 victory over the Connecticut Huskies (No. 6 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll) in a Big East Conference game at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. The No. 17 Orange (19-4, 6-4 Big East) ended a four-game losing streak by holding the nation's second-best scorer, Kemba Walker, to just eight points and forced the Huskies (17-4, 5-4) to commit 14 turnovers. The victory also helped SU avoid its first five-game losing streak under head coach Jim Boeheim.
SU's senior forward Rick Jackson collected 13 points and rebounds to earn his 20th double-double of the season. Teammate sophomore guard Brandon Triche chipped in with a team-best 16 points, 10 in the second half.
Syracuse began the second half with a 10-4 run, which was led by Triche who scored seven points during the spurt, to take a 36-29 advantage with 16:12 to play in the game. UConn answered with a 7-0 spurt that tied the game at 36-36 with 14:55 remaining. SU responded with two straight baskets -- freshman center Baye Moussa Keita netted a 2-point basket and junior forward Kris Joseph nailed a 3-pointer -- to take a 41-36 lead with 12:55 to go.
From there, the Orange, who led by seven points with about a minute and a half to go, hung on. Senior point guard Scoop Jardine made three-of-four free throws in the last minute to help cement the victory. Jardine finished with seven points and six assists. Keita ended the game with stat-stuffing performance of four points, 11 rebounds, six steals and two blocks.
For UConn, freshman Jeremy Lamb netted a game-best 22 points, including four 3-pointers. The Huskies were held to just 21-of-58 (36.2 percent) shooting, including 8-of-23 from behind the 3-point line. Connecticut, who opened it's season with 11 straight victories at home, has dropped two in a row at the XL Center. On Saturday, UConn lost to the Louisville Cardinals in double overtime.
The Syracuse basketball schedule features the Orange playing at the South Florida Bulls on Saturday (2 p.m.) then hosting the Georgetown Hoyas next Wednesday (7 p.m.). The Orange will travel to Louisville next Saturday, Feb. 12, (noon).