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Despite Cooney's 28, Orange Come Up Short Against No. 15 Tar Heels

SU Athletics

Not even another herculean effort by Trevor Cooney could save Syracuse this time.

The junior guard scored 28 points, but North Carolina pulled away in the second half for a 93-83 win in Chapel Hill over Syracuse (14-7, 5-3 ACC).  

"Trev shot the lights out the first half," Michael Gbinije said.  "It's tough. I thought we played our offense very well today and they just played better."

Tyler Roberson's tip-in cut Syracuse's deficit to 74-72, but the Orange never got any closer.  The Tar Heels expanded their lead with a 12-3 run and took advantage of the foul trouble for Roberson and Gbinije.

There wasn't any stunning last minute entertainment, ejection or officiating in Jim Boeheim's return to the Tar Heel state.  But the final outcome was, perhaps, just as disappointing.

With Cooney's hot hand, the Orange jumped out to a five-point halftime lead and a had realistic shot at a much-needed resume building win against the Tar Heels, who are ranked No. 15 in the country.  

But North Carolina outlasted Syracuse by shooting 55 percent from the field and pushing their winning streak to six games.  The Orange, meanwhile, has lost two in a row, remain winless against ranked opponents and sit outside the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to ESPN projections.

Cooney's 28 tied a season-high and his 15 first half points gave Syracuse an early advantage.  He went on a 7-0 run, all by himself, that started at the 13:10 mark in the first half.  His first 3-pointer of the game came after Ron Patterson recovered a loose ball from a scrum and kicked it outside to an open Cooney.  He capped off the run with a running leaner near the free throw line, which gave the Orange a 16-9 lead.

The Tar Heels tied the game with their own 7-0 run, but Cooney came back with an immediate response. He put Syracuse in front, 19-16, by curling around a screen and hitting a 3-pointer at the top of the key.  About two minutes later, he created separation from Nate Britt with a step-back three near the left baseline.

Syracuse also benefited by forcing 13 turnovers in the first half, while only giving up five.

"We did a little better job in the first half by getting our hands on the ball and got some turnovers when they were trying to get the ball inside," Boeheim said.  "I thought that was the difference in the first half.  We got some deflections, some steals."

In the second half, the Tar Heels only committed seven turnovers and shot 62 percent to finish with its highest scoring output of the season.  Marcus Paige led North Carolina with 22 points and eight steals, while Britt, Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson contributed to a balanced offensive attack with 17 points apiece.

Christmas added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Orange, but it wasn't enough to keep Syracuse on top in a high-flying second half shootout.