PAGE 8B
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Ennis' 35-footer keeps No.1 Syracuse undefeated
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH — Tyler Ennis made a 35-footer at the buzzer to help No. 1 Syracuse remain unbeaten with a 58-56 win over No. 25 Pitt on Wednesday night.
Syracuse's Tyler Ennis (11) shoots a 3-pointer between Pittsburgh's Cameron Wright (3) and Josh Newkirk, left, in the final second of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday in Pittsburgh. The shot went in and Syracuse won 58-56.
Wednesday Syracuse (24-0, 11-0 ACC) remained one of two undefeated teams in Division I along with Wichita State.
Trailing by one with 4.4 seconds left, Ennis caught the inbounds pass and dribble up the court before hitting the shot over two defenders.
Talib Zanna, who led Pitt (20-5, 8-4) with 16 points and 14 rebounds, had given Pitt a 56-55 lead with 4.4 seconds remaining after he hit two free throws.
It was Pitt's first loss at home to a top-five team in the 12-year history of the Petersen Events Center, their oncampus arena. The Panthers (20-5, 8-4) had been 9-0 against top-five teams and 13-1 against teams ranked in the top 10.
C. J. Fair led Syracuse with 14 points.
Pitt had a 54-46 lead with less than two minutes remaining, but Fair made a 3-pointer with 1:40 to go. He then hit a jumper to make it 54-53 with 51 seconds left. After Pitt missed on the other end, Ennis made two free throws with 10 seconds left to give the Orange the lead.
Pitt led 27-24 at halftime and built its lead to nine in the early stages of the second half
Syracuse stormed back with a 17-8 run and tied the score on a Trevor Cooney 3-pointer with 6:53 to go, but Pitt regained control after Zanna converted a three-point play and freshman Jamel Artis sank two free throws for a 50-45 lead.
when Lamar Patterson made a 3-pointer to make it 37-28 with 15 minutes remaining.
But it was all Syracuse after that. Pitt's only points in the final 1:59 came from Zanna's two free throws, and the Panthers were outscored 10-3 in the final 1:59.
Syracuse had to play without backup center Baye Moussa Keita, who sat out with a sprained knee. That forced sophomore forward Jerami Grant into duty as the backup center behind Rakeem Christmas.
Pitt had injury issues of its own. Senior forward and leading scorer Lamar Patterson had the thumb on his right hand wrapped for a second consecutive game. After going 1 for 9 in his previous outing against Virginia Tech, Patterson scored 13 points.
Pitt led by as many as seven in the first half. A Patterson 3-pointer with 4:30 to go before halftime capped a 10-3 Pitt run and gave the Panthers a 24-17 lead. It was the third 3-pointer of the half for the Panthers, who also had their way on the offensive glass against Syracuse.
The Panthers outrebounded Syracuse, 18-11, in the first
half and scored seven second-
chance points from nine
offensive rebounds.
Syracuse was able to keep it close and got some unlikely
scoring from sophomore guard Michael Gbinije, who led the Orange with seven points. Gbinije, who entered the game averaging only 3.3
Syracuse needed Gbinije's production because 3-point
points per game, tallied seven points in his previous four games combined.
specialist Tervor Cooney was held to three points in the first 20 minutes on 1 for 3 shooting from behind the arc.
Wichita State's Ron Baker helps Shockers stay perfect
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Illinois State guard Paris Lee (1) reaches in to defend against Wichita State guard Ron Baker (31) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at Redbird Arena, Wednesday in Normal, III.
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WICHITA — All those sages who claim there are valuable lessons to be learned from a loss have never met Ron Baker, the mop-haired sophomore guard for No. 4 Wichita State.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
You see, the Shockers are riding a perfect start to the season, pushing their record to 26-0 with a 78-67 victory over Southern Illinois on Tuesday night. But people seem to forget that the Fabulous Baker Boy was actually hurt during much of their Final Four run a year ago.
So that 30-9 record that Wichita State had last season? Six of those defeats came with Baker on the bench, trying desperately to recover from a stress fracture in his foot.
"I didn't realize that until you mentioned it," he said. "I wouldn't say it's because I'm on the floor, though. I think the teammates I'm around kind of help put that record together."
Nevertheless, Baker has had a big part in it. He returned from his injury in time for the Missouri Valley tournament, where the Shockers lost to Creighton in the title game, and was a big reason why they advanced to the Final Four, losing to eventual champion Louisville.
His only other loss came in an early visit to Tennessee last year.
This season, Baker is the
Psychological Clinic
"At this point, you have to learn from winning, which is tough for a lot of teams."
Shockers' second-leading scorer at nearly 13 points per game, and he's also second on the team in assists and arguably their best perimeter defender.
RON BAKER
Wichita State guard
Being the star is nothing new, though. Neither is winning.
Baker averaged more than 20 points as a senior for tiny Scott City (Kan.) High School, leading the Beavers to a 25-1 record. The three-sport star — he was a standout quarterback and accomplished baseball player — poured in 26 points in the Class 3A championship, including the buzzer-beating putback that gave Scott City the title. His knack for seizing the moment has continued at Wichita State.
The Shockers were struggling along against the Salukis until Baker heated up Tuesday night. He wound up hitting three 3-pointers in the second half, part of his game-high 19 points, lifting Wichita State to a tougher-than-expected victory that kept their perfect record intact.
"I like that kid a lot. I kind of
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drift toward shooters — you can tell, because we don't have a lot on our team," Salukis coach Barry Hinson joked. "And you can see he's having fun."
He wasn't having a whole lot of fun midway through the game, when Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall got into his face on the sideline. The sophomore was passing up open looks and instead trying to make the remarkable play, and Marshall wasn't very happy.
Their one-sided conversation played out within earshot of hundreds of fans seated courtside.
1 told Ron that for whatever reason, I think he's going at least one dribble too far at times," Marshall said. "He's trying to make a spectacular play or a spectacular pass, but he's open off ball screens. Shoot the basketball! That's what you do. You're not Magic Johnson, not yet. Just shoot the ball instead of trying to make these home-run plays"
Baker clearly listened to his advice, popping off a series of open jumpers with an effortless shooting touch. By the time he hit his final 3 in the closing minutes, the game was well in hand.
It wasn't easy, not by a long shot, but it kept the Shockers undefeated. It also kept Baker's near-perfect career just as impressive as it was at the beginning of the night.
At this point, you have to learn from winning, which is tough for a lot of teams." Baker said. "For us, we haven't had a chance to learn from losing. We don't want to, either."
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