Syracuse Benefits From Layoff

December 27, 1998 / 7:05 PM EST / AP

A two-week layoff afforded No. 22 Syracuse a chance to forget its slump and start over again.

Although the Orangemen's offense remained missing in action, they rediscovered their defense and free throw shooting Sunday to overcome St. Bonaventure 71-55.

"Defensively, we played tonight like we did in the beginning of the year. We were aggressive. We caused turnovers," Ryan Blackwell said. "We struggled offensively ... and that's going to happen sometimes. You just have to make sure the other team doesn't score when you don't score."

"The whole preseason before our first game, that's all we did was stress defense. Man-to-man defense. Pressure defense. That work paid off today," said Damone Brown, who had 17 points to lead the Orangemen (8-3).

Syracuse, which started the season with six consecutive victories, won for just the second time in its last five games despite shooting 42 percent, committing 19 turnovers and not scoring from the field for the final nine minutes.

But while it looked out of sorts from the field, Syracuse sank 14 of 17 free throws over the final nine minutes and finished 24-of-31 for the game.

"That's concentration," said Brown, who was 7-of-10 from the foul line. "We make them in practice. We should be able to make them in the game."

Hitting five 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the second half, St. Bonaventure (4-6) kept Syracuse from pulling away. The Bonnies made a late charge, pulling to within nine points three times in the final five minutes as Tim Winn scored eight of his team-high 16 points. But Winn's driving reverse layup making it 64-55 with 2:17 remaining were the Bonnies' final points.

"They stayed poised and made their free throws at the end," Winn said. "We're just inconsistent right now in taking care of the ball. Both teams had a lot of turnovers, but they capitalized on theirs."

The Bonnies also got 15 points from J.R. Bremer, who sank 5-of-7 from long range.

Jason Hart, Allen Griffin and Ryan Blackwell each added 11 points apiece for the Orangemen, who were playing the Bonnies for the first time since 1987.

Syracuse entered the game ranked fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 35 percent shooting. The Bonnies misfired on 34 of 54 shots against the Orangemen, who combined for 14 steals and seven blocked shots.

"They have big guards and that makes it difficult for us to see over them. You have to use your quickness against them," said Bonnies coach Jim Baron. "They played very aggressively. They played with more intensity than what I've seen previously. They got emotion into the game and that helped them."

Syracuse closed the first half with an 11-3 run to open up a double-digit advantage, 31-20, despite shooting just 41 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Brown scored eight points in that span.

Facing Syracuse's tenacious defense, St. Bonaventure could convert on onlthree baskets during the first 10½ minutes while turning the ball over eight times.