Syracuse Pushes Richmond Around

The Syracuse Orangemen took advantage of their size, and Richmond wilted.

With their front line of 6-foot-9 Etan Thomas, 6-7 Ryan Blackwell and 6-9 Damone Brown dominating the backboards with 32 rebounds, 22 offensive, the No. 14 Orangemen defeated the Spiders, 74-60, Friday night in the first round of the Carrier Classic at Syracuse.

Syracuse, which shot 41.8%, scored nine follow-up baskets, winning the battle of the boards, 44-29. The threesome also combined for 55 points.

“They just got too many easy baskets,” Richmond Coach John Beilein said. “They force you off your man because they’re so individually talented. You leave your man a second and you’re in trouble.”

Thomas led the way for Syracuse (5-0) with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Blackwell had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Brown 16 points and seven rebounds.

The Orangemen will play St. Joseph’s in tonight’s championship. Richmond (2-2) will play Long Beach State in the first game.

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No. 2 North Carolina 72, College of Charleston 54--Jason Capel scored 16 points and the Tar Heels took out a year’s worth of frustration, defeating the Cougars in the Food Lion MVP Classic at Charlotte, N.C.

The victory came nearly one year to the day after the Cougars shocked then-No. 3 North Carolina, 66-64, in the tournament.

There were no heroics for the Cougars (2-1) this time, however, as North Carolina (4-1) forced 10 first-half turnovers and converted them into 14 points on the way to a 12-point lead.

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No. 8 Michigan State 75, Howard 45--Jason Richardson scored 16 points and Andre Hutson posted his fourth career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Spartans past Howard in the first game of the Spartan Classic at East Lansing, Mich.

The Spartans (5-1) will face Eastern Michigan in today’s championship game.

Jonathan Stokes led Howard (0-3) with 16 points and Jermaine Holliway added 10.

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No. 20 Utah 69, Augusta State 56--Alex Jensen scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Utes held off the Division II Jaguars at Salt Lake City.

Jensen was sidelined with four fouls and Augusta (3-4) trailed by just six with 3:49 to play when the 6-foot-9 senior helped ice the game for Utah (3-2). Jensen converted a three-point play on a strong move to the hoop and a foul, followed by another driving layup.

WOMEN

No. 6 North Carolina State 74, Wake Forest 54--Kaayla Chones had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wolfpack, 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, to an easy victory over the Demon Deacons (1-4, 0-1) at Raleigh, N.C.

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No. 15 UC Santa Barbara 74, Brigham Young 58--Kayte Christensen’s 21 points and 13 rebounds led the Gauchos (4-1) past the Cougars (3-1) and into today’s championship of the KU Credit Union Jayhawk Classic at Lawrence, Kan.

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No. 18 Kansas 73, Loyola Marymount 58--Lynn Pride had 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Jayhawks (4-0) defeated the Lions (2-2) in the first round of the KU Credit Union Classic at Lawrence, Kan.

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No. 19 Old Dominion 99, Memphis 60--Lucienne Berthieu scored a career-high 31 points as the Lady Monarchs (3-1) defeated the Tigers (3-3) in the first round of the Carrier Classic, advancing to play Syracuse in today’s championship.