Syracuse 89, Fordham 74

It was size vs. speed, and it wasn’t even close.

Fordham’s four quick guards were no match for Syracuse’s size and length in an 89-74 defeat on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome.

With 1:30 remaining in the first half, C.J. Fair missed a three-point attempt. DaJuan Coleman corralled one of his seven offensive rebounds. His putback missed. Rebound by Jerami Grant. Another miss. Another Coleman board. Another shot.

Good. And one.

42-19.

“It’s very difficult because they eat up so much space on the zone,” Pecora said. “You try and find angles and make entry passes. The margin for error is minimal.”

Fordham started four guards at the outset in the hopes shooting and running its way to an upset. Instead the Rams spent all night trying to match up with the size of the Syracuse 2-3 zone. They spent all night coming up short. The Rams committed 19 turnovers, many of which were interceptions caused by the long arms of the SU defense.

When the ball wasn’t being turned over in the early going, the Rams were heaving contested three-pointers. Fordham started out 0-9 from downtown as the Orange quickly built a 25-point halftime lead.

“They were getting a lot of easy shots in the first half, a lot of quick shots,” Branden Frazier said.” They had (22) offensive rebounds, and you’re not going to win the game like that. “In the first half they were just getting a lot of layups and a lot of mid-range shots. They were shots that everyone on the team could make.”

For all the disappointment of the first half, the Rams gave the 22,667 Carrier Dome fans a reason to fret in the latter stanza.

Fordham outscored Syracuse 53-43 in the second half, but it was too little too late. The Rams cut the lead to 12 with 3:33 remaining, but Syracuse reeled off seven straight to put the game out of reach.

Frazier, the lone senior, poured in 33 points to lead all scorers. He shot 9-14 from the field, including 4-6 from long range. Every time Syracuse made a push to break the game wide open, Frazier would halt the damage.

His freshman counterpart, Jon Severe had 19 points, 17 of which came in the second half. He made four long-range jumpers after the break. After failing on its first nine attempts, the Orange settled down to make 11 of their last 18 shots from long range.

Pecora said he thought nerves contributed to Severe’s slow start.

“He’s playing in this environment for the first time,” Pecora said. “As good a player as he is, he’s a freshman. It’s growing pains.”

Even though Fordham gave the No. 7 Orange a push in the second half, it was clear the superior 2-3 Syracuse zone wasn’t going to give in.

“We went over it a lot of times, but actually seeing it, it was big,” Severe said of the defense. “I was trying to make passes and we kept turning the ball over. I think in the second half we just learned.”

Instead of complaining, though, Severe said the game was a wakeup call that his team needs to work harder.

“We got to get in the weight room,” Severe said.