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Knocking off No. 1 Braswell leads Georgetown to 76-72 upset of Syracuse
Posted: Friday March 10, 2000 01:58 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Coach Jim Boeheim was blunt about top-seeded Syracuse's 76-72 flameout Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament against Georgetown. The Orangemen were awful and Boeheim found a variety of ways to say it. "This had nothing to do with Georgetown," Boeheim said. "The problem was Syracuse. This was the worst we played for a while. I didn't see any leadership or effort until there were 10 minutes to go in the game." And by then, Georgetown had the idea it could win and pulled off the upset. "We had no defensive intensity at all," Boeheim continued. "Georgetown killed us from the start."
The loss almost certainly will impact on Syracuse's seeding for the NCAA tournament. Boeheim, however, had bigger concerns than that. "We can't come out and play like this or we'll lose to anybody in the first round," he said. "I hope we learn the lesson this week rather than next week." The Hoyas (18-13) took advantage of Syracuse's lethargy and some sparkling guard play by Kevin Braswell to shoot down the No. 12 Orangemen. Braswell, who had 20 points, made nine free throws down the stretch and had a key interception to seal the shocker. It was his 3-pointer in the final second that beat West Virginia in the Big East opener. "Braswell finally turned himself into a point guard," said Georgetown coach Craig Esherick, who had a long talk with the sophomore on the eve of the tournament. "The chat we had the other day will last us all the way through March." It was just the third time in the 21-year history of the tournament that a top seed has been knocked off in the quarterfinals of this tournament and the second time it has happened to the Orangemen. It also was the first time in Big East history that a No. 9 seed has defeated a No. 1. Lee Scruggs also had 20 for Georgetown, including a stretch of nine of 11 points as the Hoyas built a 33-30 halftime lead to as many as 10 points. Scruggs also had nine rebounds. Syracuse (24-5) helped the Hoyas by going just 1-for-15 from the field to start the second half. With the Orangemen frantically trying to catch the Hoyas in the final minutes, Jason Hart was fouled on a 3-point shot. But he made just one of three free throws, leaving the Orangemen trailing 70-65. After Ryan Blackwell cut the lead to three points, Demetrius Hunter dropped in two foul shots to restore the five-point edge. As Syracuse rushed down court, Braswell stepped in front of a pass by Hart for the key interception with 21.8 second remaining. He dropped in four straight free throws in the final 18 seconds to finish off the victory for Georgetown. The Hoyas got off to a 9-2 lead but Syracuse went a 15-2 run punctuated by two thunderous dunks by Etan Thomas to take the lead at 17-11. Georgetown came right back as Braswell nailed consecutive 3-pointers and Scruggs added two baskets in a 15-0 spurt to regain the lead at 26-17. The Hoyas, who lost by 15 points to Syracuse on Feb. 27, never trailed again. Thomas led Syracuse with 17 points and 13 rebounds while Damone Brown scored 15, all in the second half and Hart and DeShaun Williams each scored 11. The only other No. 1 seeds to lose Big East quarters were Boston College against Providence in 1981 and Syracuse against Villanova in 1991.
Connecticut 79, Seton Hall 64Khalid El-Amin scored 30 points and fourth-seeded Connecticut moved a step closer to defending its Big East championship with a 79-64 quarterfinal victory over Seton Hall on Thursday. The 21st-ranked Huskies (23-8) advanced to Friday night's semifinals against ninth-seeded Georgetown (18-13), which beat top-seeded Syracuse 76-72 Thursday. Big East history will be made regardless of who wins because no team that has played in the opening round has ever even advanced to the championship game. El-Amin, Connecticut's leading scorer at 16.4 points a game, had 24 points in the first half as the defending national champions took a 43-29 lead. But the fifth-seeded Pirates (20-9) used an 8-0 run to get within 52-49 with 13:58 to play. They were within 54-51 on two free throws by Ty Shine with 12:31 left when Albert Mouring's 3-pointer started a 15-1 run that gave the Huskies a 69-52 lead with 8:05 left. Seton Hall never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way. Connecticut's deciding run included a technical foul called against Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker. El-Amin made two free throws on the technical, and Kevin Freeman scored on a rebound on the ensuing possession to cap a run of 11 straight points. The victory was the eighth straight in Big East tournament play for the Huskies, a streak that dates to the quarterfinals of the 1998 tournament. Connecticut had won a total of 10 games in the first 18 tournaments. The win was the seventh straight for Connecticut over Seton Hall, a streak that included two games this season. In those games El-Amin had a total of 27 points. It was also the Huskies' fifth straight victory overall. El-Amin's career high is 34 points earlier this season against Notre Dame. He was within 10 of that at halftime against Seton Hall as he went 10-of-12 from the field. His 30 points were the most in the Big East tournament for a Connecticut team since Donyell Marshall set the tournament record with 42 against St. John's in 1994. Edmund Saunders had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies, who finished 29-for-56 from the field (51.8 percent), while Albert Mouring had 11 points and Jake Voskuhl added 10. Shaheen Holloway had 21 points for the Pirates, who shot 38.2 percent (21-for-55) and were outrebounded 41-25, while Samuel Dalembert and Rimas Kaukenas each added 11 points. The loss was the fifth in seven games for Seton Hall.
St. John's 75, Villanova 70Bootsy Thornton scored 21 points and third-seeded St. John's, which blew a 15-point second-half lead, scored the game's final six points in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. The 19th-ranked Red Storm (22-7) advanced to Friday night's semifinals against second-seeded Miami (21-9), which beat Notre Dame 61-58 in the quarterfinals. That will be a rematch of last week's regular-season finale, won by Miami 74-70 in overtime, and of last season's semifinal, won 62-59 by St. John's. St. John's, which had won nine of 10, appeared in control early, building a 41-26 halftime lead on 56 percent shooting (18-for-32). But the sixth-seeded Wildcats (19-12), who trailed 43-28 less than a minute into the second half, used a 13-2 run capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Gary Buchanan and Brian Lynch to get within 43-39 with 16:31 left. The Wildcats, who shot 58.6 percent in the second half (17-for-29), tied the game at 59-59 on a free throw by Brooks Sales with 6:58 left. They took their first lead of the game 66-64 on a jumper by Sales with 4:04 to play. Villanova was up 70-69 with 51 seconds left on two free throws by Buchanan, but those were its last points. Chudney Gray scored on a drive with 40 seconds left to give the Red Storm the lead for good and, after a missed jumper by Malik Allen of the Wildcats with 24 seconds left, Anthony Glover scored on a breakaway dunk with 16 seconds left. After Villanova turned the ball over as it scrambled to get off a tying 3-pointer, Erick Barkley was fouled with 4.8 seconds left and made two free throws for the final margin. Lavor Postell had 18 points for St. John's and Barkley had 11 points and 11 assists. Buchanan led the Wildcats with 19 points and seven assists and Allen had 16 points and 11 rebounds. This will be St. John's third straight semifinal appearance. The Wildcats have not advanced past the quarterfinals since 1997.
Miami 61, Notre Dame 58The Hurricanes stood off a furious late rally by Notre Dame and defeated the Fighting Irish 61-58 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. Elton Tyler, who scored 14 points, made a key basket and then a clutch defensive play to clinch the victory for the No. 23 Hurricanes. Miami (21-9) stretched a second-half lead to 10 points at 53-43 before Notre Dame charged back with a 10-0 run that was started with consecutive 3-pointers by Martin Ingelsby and Matt Carroll. A basket by Carroll with 4:56 to play tied it at 53. Then Miami responded with six straight points on baskets by Tyler and John Salmons and a pair of foul shots by Vernon Jennings for a 59-53 lead with 2:19 remaining. Again, the Irish responded, drawing within one point with 20.6 seconds to play on a basket by Harold Swanagan followed by a 3-pointer by Jere Macura. After Jennings missed a free throw with 18.8 seconds to play, the Irish came down and went for the win. But Troy Murphy, the conference player of the year, missed a long shot and Miami rebounded. Tyler, alone downcourt, dunked for a 61-58 lead with less than a second left. Notre Dame had one slim last chance, but Tyler blocked Harold Swanagan's inbounds pass to end it.
Johnny Hemsley led Miami with 17 points, and Jennings had eight
points and 11 assists. Murphy led Notre Dame with 15 points and 16
rebounds, David Graves added 14, and Carroll had 11.
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