3-ball lifts No. 21 Irish over Orange

Luke Harangody had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 21 Notre Dame beat Syracuse 103-91 on Tuesday night behind an impressive display of 3-point shooting.

Notre Dame (18-4, 6-3 Big East) won for the first time in four conference road games and halted a three-game losing streak against the reeling Orange (15-7, 4-4), who lost their third straight game.

The Irish missed their first three 3-pointers, but it didn't take them long to find the range. Notre Dame went 10-for-14 on 3s for the rest of the opening half, with Russell Carter and Colin Falls each hitting four, and most were wide-open looks against the defenseless Orange.

Notre Dame scored 18 points off 10 Orange turnovers in the half and left the floor with a 61-42 lead, just five points off the team record set against Ball State in 1964 and matched in 1986 against Miami.

It also was just four points off the all-time record for points allowed in a half by the Orange. Syracuse gave up 65 in the second half in a 97-85 loss to Navy in March 1986 and hadn't allowed 60 points in the first half of a game since 1988.

Carter finished with 18 points and Falls had 16 before fouling out in the closing minutes, while Zach Hillesland had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Tory Jackson 19 points and seven assists.

Demetris Nichols had 29 points to lead Syracuse, Terrence Roberts had 20 points and six rebounds, and Darryl Watkins had 10 points and six rebounds before fouling out in the final two minutes. Eric Devendorf, who had led Syracuse in scoring in five of seven conference games, did not score, missing all 11 shots he took.

After Nichols hit a 3 to give Syracuse an 11-9 lead at 16:30, the Irish began their barrage. Carter and Falls each made a pair of 3s to key a 16-4 run.

The Orange retaliated with a 13-5 surge, with Nichols scoring five straight points and Roberts beginning and ending it with slam dunks.

The second dunk moved Syracuse within 30-28 midway through the period as the Carrier Dome crowd erupted, but the Irish quickly quieted the place with an 11-point spurt.

Falls and Carter each hit 3-pointers, Harangody had a slam dunk, and Jonathan Peoples swished a 3 from the left corner _ his only shot of the period _ to give Notre Dame a 41-28 lead with 7:35 remaining.

Syracuse moved back within 10 points three times, the last when Paul Harris fed Roberts for a dunk to make it 50-40 with 2:46 left.

The Irish finished the half with an 11-2 run, with Jackson converting a pair of layups in the final minute.

Syracuse fell by as many as 28 after Jackson's free throw made it 75-47 with 14:04 left, but the Orange never gave up. Josh Wright's layup with 3:03 left completed a 14-4 run that moved Syracuse within 90-79.

Unfazed, the Irish made 13 straight free throws in the final three minutes and finished the game 11-for-23 from beyond the arc. The most 3-pointers allowed by Syracuse was 16 in a 108-69 loss at DePaul last March.