Flynn overcomes injury to lift No. 11 Syracuse

December 21, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jonny Flynn had 24 points and six assists, Paul Harris added 15 points and eight rebounds and No. 11 Syracuse beat No. 23 Memphis 72-65 on Saturday night.

Flynn, who was questionable for the game because of an ailing hip that he hurt in the second half against Canisius on Wednesday, was 9-of-17 from the field.

Rick Jackson finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Orange (11-1).

Roburt Sallie and Pierre Henderson-Niles led Memphis (6-3) with 12 points apiece, as the Tigers shot 34 percent in the game. They were just 7-of-33 outside the 3-point arc.

Memphis has lost three of its last five games.

Despite the terrible shooting night, particularly from outside, Memphis was still within 60-57 with just over 5 minutes to play. But Syracuse would make enough free throws down the stretch to hold on for its second straight win, after its only loss of the season came on a desperation shot by Cleveland State on Monday night.

The Orange were without starting guard Eric Devendorf, the team’s second-leading scorer, who is under university suspension after he was accused of hitting a female student on Nov. 1.

Syracuse already has wins this season over nationally ranked Florida and Kansas, last season’s national champion.

Meanwhile, Memphis entered the game having lost to ranked teams Xavier and Georgetown.

Syracuse packed its zone defense into the paint, leaving Memphis to pass the ball around the perimeter looking for an opening. There was little reason for the Orange to extend because Memphis made only one of 15 shots from outside the arc in the first half.

The Orange initially weren’t shooting much better, hitting only one of their first seven shots from 3-point range, but they would get better as Memphis continued to misfire.

Flynn was the offensive spark for the Orange in the first half. His 3-pointer from the top of the key stopped Memphis’ 9-0 run, then hit another 3 from near the same spot.

The Orange eventually would close the half on a 15-6 run, including the last seven points, to carry a 35-33 lead into the break. Syracuse hit seven of it last 10 shots from the field, including all three of its 3-pointers.

Flynn finished the half with 12 points.

The two teams remained close in the second half. Memphis coach John Calipari kept grasping for anyone who could make a shot, continually shuffling players as Memphis missed 18 of its first 19 from long range. Nothing worked even as Syracuse sloughed off on defense.

The most success against the zone came from those limited times where the Tigers were able to force passes into the lane, but that was rare. Memphis would take a 53-52 lead with 8:50 left, but Flynn answered the basket and the Orange didn’t trail the rest of the way.

No. 12 Notre Dame 88, Delaware St. 50

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Luke Harangody had 20 points and eight rebounds and Ryan Ayers added 18 points for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame dominated inside, outscoring the Hornets in the paint 32-10 with a 41-24 rebounding advantage. Delaware State tried to slow Notre Dame’s high-scoring offense with its slow, deliberate offense, but had minimal success because the Hornets couldn’t slow Harangody.

Harangody was 7-of-8 from the floor for 16 points in the first half to lead the Irish to a 39-21 halftime lead. The Irish used a 12-0 run to extend the lead to 29, then continued to pull away for most of the rest of the game.

Kyle McAlarney added 14 points for the Irish (8-2). Kris Douse and Marcus Neal led Delaware State (2-13) with 11 points each.