Sophomore guard Dion Waiters scored a team-best 18 points and junior forward James Southerland netted all 10 of his in the second half to help propel the Syracuse Orange past the Connecticut Huskies, 58-55, in a Big East Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Madison Square Garden.
The Orange (31-1) advance to the semifinals where they will play Cincinnati Bearcats, who defeated the Georgetown Hoyas, 72-70, in double overtime. The Huskies (20-13) now await their NCAA Tournament seed on Selection Sunday.
Trailing 47-43 with 8:16 to go in the game, Syracuse used a 13-2 run, which included two 3-pointers by Southerland, to earn a 56-49 lead with 4:59 to play in the game. The Orange (31-1) cemented the game by clamping down on defense and going 3-for-4 from the free throw line, two from Southerland, in the final minute.
Senior forward Kris Joseph netted 10 points for Syracuse, while junior guard Brandon Triche and sophomore center Fab Melo each added seven. Melo collected seven rebounds and Triche had six.
Meanwhile, sophomore guard Shabazz Napier scored a team-best 14 points for UConn, which shot 34.4-percent from the field and made just 26.1-percent of its 21 long 3-point attempts.
Check out, the SB Nation's blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician to discuss everything on the Orange, while the The UConn Blog is all about, well, UConn. Make sure to follow along on Twitter at SBNationNY or JaredSmithCNY, as we live blogged from the Carrier Dome.