Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Miami's win streak hits wall in road loss to Syracuse

Published Jan. 4, 2017 11:06 p.m. ET

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Andrew White will sleep a bit more soundly the next few nights.

"You would hope that when you're 8-6, when everybody puts their head to the pillow they're thinking what they can do better, what's gone wrong, what do we need to do to improve our team?" White said. "It was tough to sleep coming off a bad loss (96-81 at Boston College). It messes up your day. It messes up practice. It messes up everything when you don't win."

White scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds, and Tyler Lydon added 20 points to lead Syracuse to a badly needed win, 70-55, over Miami Wednesday.

https://youtu.be/1gwk3ylurf0

"I would've had nightmares if we had lost," White added. "You don't want to be 8-7. It's unacceptable at Syracuse."

John Gillon made his first start of the season at point guard and collected a career-tying 11 assists for Syracuse (9-6, 1-1 ACC), which registered its first win over a power conference team this season.

The loss snapped a seven-game win streak for Miami (11-3, 1-1 ACC).

"I don't think we were mentally ready to deal with the 2-3 zone or the level of talent Syracuse has at the offensive end," said Miami coach Jim Larranaga. "I don't know if our players looked at the Boston College score and thought `Oh, Syracuse is down this year.' I know our coaching staff didn't look at it that way. Their zone was a little more active tonight. We didn't respond very well."

Syracuse shot 25-of-44 for 57 percent for the game, and had 16 assists on 25 baskets. Miami, which had been averaging 75 points a game, hit just 39 percent.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was pleased with his team's effort.

"Our defense was just better tonight. We gave up some open 3s but we did a better job. It wasn't as good as we need to be but we did a better job and we were more efficient on offense."

DJ Vasiljevic led Miami with 18 points on 6-of-12 from 3-point range. Miami's two leading scorers, Ja'Quan Newton and Davon Reed, were held to 5-of-23 from the field.

Syracuse, playing with an intensity not seen in some time, led 34-26 at the half.

Miami went on a 12-3 run to start the second half and closed to 43-42 on a 3-pointer by Vasiljevic with 12:59 to go. The Orange responded with a 17-5 run to push the lead to 59-47 with about eight minutes to go. Lydon scored nine straight and White hit two 3s to fuel the surge.

The Orange shot 60 percent in the first half.

BIG PICTURE:

Miami had won seven in a row but couldn't match the intensity and energy of the Orange. Larranaga felt his Hurricanes hesitated instead of just catching and shooting.

Syracuse finally showed off the potential of the team that was ranked in the top 20 at the beginning of the season. The rotation is down to six but if the Orange plays with this energy and intensity Syracuse can still be a force.

UNLUCKY SEVEN

Miami had been 6-0 when hitting at least seven 3s. The Hurricanes hit 11 from beyond the arc, breaking the string.

WHITE OUT

White has scored in double figures in 14 of 15 games.

HIGHLIGHT REEL

Lydon displayed a gorgeous drop step and spin move en route to a slam early in the second half.

UP NEXT:

Miami: The Hurricanes have a week off before hosting No. 23 Notre Dame next Thursday.

Syracuse: The Orange concludes a modest two-game home stand Saturday against Pitt.