Syracuse rallies to beat No. 22 Kansas 89-81

[November 26, 2008]  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Jonny Flynn had 25 points and hit a 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds left in regulation, helping Syracuse knock off No. 22 Kansas 89-81 in overtime Tuesday night in the championship game of the CBE Classic.

Syracuse (4-0) trailed by 13 early in the second half, then rallied behind hot shooting and a pressure defense to set up Flynn's shot at the end of regulation. The Orange shot 14-of-24 in the second half and dominated overtime, hitting 5-of-8 shots to pull away early.

Eric Devendorf had 20 points, Arinze Onuaku had 19 and 12 rebounds, and Paul Harris finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds for Syracuse, which forced 17 turnovers.

Kansas (3-1) played well early to take a big lead, but made some costly mistakes against Syracuse's pressure in the second half to let the Orange back in it. Sherron Collins had 21 points, Tyshawn Taylor 17 and Cole Aldrich had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Kansas, which missed eight of 11 shots in overtime.

Trailing 51-38 early in the second half, the Orange picked up the defensive pressure against Kansas and the Jayhawks couldn't handle it. Syracuse forced turnovers on three straight possessions, converting those into breakaways at the other end to score six points in 28 seconds during a 13-2 run.

That cut Kansas' lead to 53-51 and the Orange finally went ahead with just over 8 minutes left, going up 57-56 on Andy Rautins' 3-pointer from the corner.

The Jayhawks put together a small spurt behind Taylor to go up 67-60, but Syracuse still wouldn't go away, pulling within two with just under 2 minutes left. Kansas went up 71-69 on two free throws by Aldrich, then were ahead by three when he went 1-of-2 from the line with 20 seconds left.

Syracuse then got the ball to Flynn, who dribbled around Aldrich and hit a 3-pointer from the wing to tie it at 72-all. Collins had a shot to win it, but his fadeaway from the baseline sailed long.

Kansas won its first three games by an average of 24 points, holding opponents to a combined 27 percent shooting. The Jayhawks played their best game of the season Monday night in the CBE semifinals, beating Washington 73-54 in their first real test.

But the defending national champs don't have a lot of experience, returning one starter, adding seven newcomers. A team this young is going to play in spurts, particularly this early in the season.

The Jayhawks sure did against Syracuse, turning what looked like another rout into a tight game with bad passes and poor shots.

[Associated Press; By JOHN MARSHALL]

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