No. 17 Syracuse ends 4-game losing streak
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Rick Jackson had 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead No. 17 Syracuse to a 66-58 victory over No. 6 Connecticut on Wednesday night and the Orange avoided the first five-game losing streak in coach Jim Boeheim's 35 seasons.
Brandon Triche had 16 points for the Orange (19-4, 6-4 Big East), who had lost four straight game under Boeheim three times before this streak.
Freshman Jeremy Lamb had 22 points to lead the Huskies (17-4, 5-4), who have lost two straight — both at home — since a six-game winning streak.
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The game featured the most wins ever in Division I between two coaches. Boeheim came in with 847, seven more than Jim Calhoun, who is also a Hall of Famer.
The 1,687 total bettered the mark of 1,665 set by Texas Tech's Bob Knight and Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton on Feb. 25, 2006.
Syracuse took its first lead on Jackson's hook shot at the halftime buzzer, 26-25. The Huskies would never get it back, although they did get close three times in the final 5 minutes and each time Syracuse had an answer.
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A follow shot by Charles Okwandu brought Connecticut within 53-52 with 4:56 left, but Triche hit a 3 28 seconds later to make it a 4-point game. Alex Oriakhi made two free throws with 3:10 to go to bring the Huskies within 56-54 but Kris Joseph had his own 5-point run to give the Orange a 7-point lead with 1:21 left.
The last time Connecticut got close was on Lamb's floater after a steal that made it 61-58 with 51 seconds left. Scoop Jardine made three of four free throws and Jackson scored on a tip-in with 14 seconds left for the final margin.
Syracuse's losing streak included defeats to top 10 teams Pittsburgh and Villanova and an embarrassing home blowout to Seton Hall.
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The loss dropped the Huskies to 11-2 at home this season and was their first loss in eight games at XL Center.
Jardine finished with seven points and six assists but he was just 2 of 11 from the field.
Kemba Walker, the nation's third-leading scorer at 24.2 points per game, finished with a season-low eight on 3-for-14 shooting, including making one of six 3-point attempts.
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Jackson entered the game leading the Big East in rebounding (11.5) and field goal percentage (58.3). He was 6 of 11 against the Huskies.