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NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Kueth Duany is making the Preseason NIT his personal showcase. Duany scored a career-high 24 points as 18th-ranked Syracuse advanced to the title game with a 69-58 victory over No. 11 Michigan State. Syracuse (4-0) will play 21st-ranked Fresno State or Wake Forest in Friday's championship game. Duany posted his previous career bests of 17 points and 12 rebounds in the quarterfinal victory over DePaul. The 6-6 junior has emerged as a starter this season after averaging 5.5 points as a reserve a year ago. "He did a great job tonight," Syracuse forward Preston Shumpert said. "He had good recognition, recognizing the kind of defense they were playing." Syracuse had a 34-26 halftime lead and Duany scored the first five points of the second half to give the Orangemen their biggest lead. Michigan State (2-1) fought back and used a 16-4 run to climb into a 54-54 tie with 7:03 left. Reserve Adam Wolfe had six points during the spurt. A reverse layup by Duany put Syracuse ahead for good at 58-56 with 4:19 to go. The Orangemen forced several key turnovers down the stretch and DeShaun Williams took advantage, scoring seven straight points for a 65-56 advantage with 1:21 to play. "We just tried to stay aggressive in the zone," Williams said. "We started stepping it up defensively. We got a lot of turnovers by just being aggressive." The Spartans, who feature four freshmen and three sophomores among their nine-man rotation, committed 26 turnovers that led to 32 points for the Orangemen. "I just felt like guiding them (freshmen) along just like the guys did for me last year," Spartans sophomore guard Marcus Taylor said. "A loss like this is a big learning experience. They come from winning high school programs and we are not used to losing here." Williams finished with 23 points and Shumpert added 14 and 10 rebounds as Syracuse held its own on the glass, grabbing 14 offensive boards. "We knew they were going to be big and physical," Shumpert said. "We just had to battle hard on the boards. If we couldn't get the rebound, we had to eliminate them from getting them." The Orangemen won despite shooting 39 percent and connecting on just 5-of-22 from beyond the arc. "That was a good win for us because we didn't do what we do best -- shoot the basketball," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "When they tied it, we made a couple good defensive plays and got a couple transition baskets." Syracuse converted 16-of-17 foul shots as Shumpert and Williams combined to make 12-of-13. Freshman Chris Hill led Michigan State with 15 points and Taylor added 14. The Spartans shot 65 percent in the second half but were undone by their own miscues. "Marcus played better," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. "He and Chris were the bright spots of the night. (But) they dominated us." .
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