The Sports Xchange
Dec 9, 2017
Syracuse tied the record for most consecutive wins against one opponent on Saturday as the Orange won their 52nd consecutive game against Colgate with a 72-58 romp before 21,380 fans at the Carrier Dome on Saturday.
The Orange tied the record set by UCLA, which defeated California 52 consecutive times between 1961 and 1985. Syracuse holds the longest and second-longest active winning streaks in the nation -- against Colgate and another New York team, Cornell (38 consecutive victories).
Syracuse, which leads the series 125-45, has not lost to Colgate since Feb. 24, 1962, when current coach Jim Boeheim was on the school's freshman team.
Tyus Battle scored a game-high 24 points and Oshae Brissett added a career-high 20 as the Atlantic Coast Conference's Orange (8-1) withstood a barrage of 3-pointers by the Patriot League's Raiders. Frank Howard tallied 18 points with six assists and five turnovers, and Paschal Chukwu grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for Syracuse.
Reserve guard Jack Ferguson, who was averaging 5.0 points per game, shot 6-for-12 from 3-point range and led the Raiders with a career-high 20 points. Jordan Swopshire scored 13 points and Will Rayman added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Raiders (3-6).
After trailing 5-3 in the opening minutes, Syracuse went on a 10-0 run and never trailed again. The Orange outscored the Raiders 13-2 and held Colgate without a field goal during a 7:17 stretch later in the first half to build their lead to 36-20.
Colgate, which shot 40 percent (14-for-35) from 3-point range, sank three of its first four shots from beyond the arc in the second half to slice Syracuse's lead to 43-37. With Syracuse ahead 47-40, Battle and Brissett combined for the Orange's next 14 points as Syracuse maintained a 61-48 advantage.