LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Terrence Williams scored all 12 of his points in the second half and No. 18 Louisville held off Syracuse 61-50 on Monday night.
Andre McGee added 12 points and Louisville (21-6, 11-3 Big East) limited the Orange (17-10, 7-7) to 29 percent shooting to keep pace with No. 12 Georgetown atop the Big East.
Louisville won its season-high sixth straight showing it can survive without senior center David Padgett, who was played just 17 minutes with foul trouble.
Arinze Onuaku led Syracuse with 16 points and Paul Harris added 13, but the Orange found few openings in Louisville's tough 2-3 defense. Syracuse entered the game tied with Georgetown in field goal percentage, making 49 percent of its shots from the field. The Orange managed barely half that against Louisville.
The Cardinals appeared to break open a close game when Williams finished a spectacular dunk over Donte Greene that gave Louisville a 50-40 lead with 8:20 to go.
Syracuse managed to get within one possession, cutting it to 52-50 on a putback by Onuaku with 2:20 remaining. Williams, however, hit a jumper from the corner and Earl Clark swiped the ball on Syracuse's next possession.
The Cardinals missed a shot, but Williams ran it down, eventually leading to McGee's fourth 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 57-50 with 53 seconds to go as Louisville ended the game on a 9-0 run.
Louisville dominated the glass, outrebounding Syracuse 53-35. That total included 19 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points, preventing the Orange from upsetting a ranked-opponent for the second straight game.
Syracuse attacked Louisville's zone relentlessly in the first half, getting the Cardinals in serious foul trouble. Padgett played just over four minutes in the half after picking up two fouls, and Derrick Caracter wasted little time collecting three.
Still, the Orange couldn't take advantage, thanks to horrendous shooting and an inability to keep Louisville off the offensive glass. Syracuse shot just 24 percent from the floor in the first half and allowed the Cardinals eight second-chance points as the teams limped into the locker room tied at 26.
For more, read Tuesday's Citizen
Louisville won its season-high sixth straight showing it can survive without senior center David Padgett, who was played just 17 minutes with foul trouble.
Arinze Onuaku led Syracuse with 16 points and Paul Harris added 13, but the Orange found few openings in Louisville's tough 2-3 defense. Syracuse entered the game tied with Georgetown in field goal percentage, making 49 percent of its shots from the field. The Orange managed barely half that against Louisville.
The Cardinals appeared to break open a close game when Williams finished a spectacular dunk over Donte Greene that gave Louisville a 50-40 lead with 8:20 to go.
Syracuse managed to get within one possession, cutting it to 52-50 on a putback by Onuaku with 2:20 remaining. Williams, however, hit a jumper from the corner and Earl Clark swiped the ball on Syracuse's next possession.
The Cardinals missed a shot, but Williams ran it down, eventually leading to McGee's fourth 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 57-50 with 53 seconds to go as Louisville ended the game on a 9-0 run.
Louisville dominated the glass, outrebounding Syracuse 53-35. That total included 19 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points, preventing the Orange from upsetting a ranked-opponent for the second straight game.
Syracuse attacked Louisville's zone relentlessly in the first half, getting the Cardinals in serious foul trouble. Padgett played just over four minutes in the half after picking up two fouls, and Derrick Caracter wasted little time collecting three.
Still, the Orange couldn't take advantage, thanks to horrendous shooting and an inability to keep Louisville off the offensive glass. Syracuse shot just 24 percent from the floor in the first half and allowed the Cardinals eight second-chance points as the teams limped into the locker room tied at 26.
For more, read Tuesday's Citizen
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