Irish end Syracuse's Big East title run

Russell Carter scored 24 points to help No. 20 Notre Dame beat Syracuse 89-83 in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament Thursday, ending the Orange's run for a third straight championship.

Syracuse (22-10) had won the last two Big East championships and eight straight tournament games _ one short of Connecticut's record of nine set from 1998-2000.

Notre Dame (24-6), which finished fourth in the conference and received a first-round bye, won its sixth straight game. The Irish won 23 games in the regular season, their most since the 1985-86 season.

Notre Dame will play top-seeded Georgetown in the semifinals Friday night. Roy Hibbert scored eight of his 14 points in No. 9 Georgetown's opening 26-2 run, and the Hoyas held on for a 62-57 victory over ninth-seeded Villanova.

Leading 56-53 with 11:59 left in the game, Notre Dame went on a 9-2 run to take a 10-point lead. Carter had four points during the spurt.

Syracuse rallied to within 70-66 on Paul Harris' layup. The Irish extended the lead to 11 on Falls' free throws with 1:41 left.

The Orange refused to go away, cutting the lead to four three times _ the last on Harris' layup with 24.9 seconds left. Notre Dame made its free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Harris finished with a career-high 24 points and 15 rebounds. Eric Devendorf added 19 for the Orange. Demetris Nichols, who scored 28 points in Syracuse's opening round victory over Connecticut, had 17 _ all but one in the second half.

Terrence Roberts grabbed 20 rebounds, becoming the fifth player to record over 20 boards in the tournament. Dikembe Mutombo holds the record with 27.

Colin Falls scored 23 points, including seven 3-pointers and freshman Luke Harangody added 20 points for the Irish.

Notre Dame beat Syracuse 103-91 on Jan. 30 at the Carrier Dome _ setting the highest scoring mark for a visiting team.

The Irish continued to have an easy time scoring against Syracuse's zone defense.

Notre Dame hit 13 3-pointers.

Trailing by three early in the second half, Notre Dame went on a 15-2 run to take a 51-42 lead. Syracuse answered with its own 9-2 spurt to close within two on Nichols' 3-pointer.

Syracuse held a 34-32 halftime lead. Down 14-13, the Orange went on a 13-2 run. Harris scored seven straight points during the spurt to give Syracuse a 26-16 lead with 7:52 left.

Notre Dame responded with a 13-2 surge, including three 3-pointers by Carter, to retake the lead 29-28 with 3:58 left in the half.

This was the teams' first meeting in the Big East tournament since March 5, 1997, when the Orange beat the Irish 84-66.