National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Syracuse 66, Iowa 63
When: 5:00 PM ET, Friday, November 21, 2014
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: # Dennis Allocco, # Guy Pagano, # Thomas Regan
Attendance: 11255

No. 24 Syracuse 66, No. 25 Iowa 63: Freshman Chris McCullough scored a season-high 20 points and Rakeem Christmas added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting as the Orange held off the Hawkeyes in the consolation game of the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden.

Syracuse (3-1) rebounded from a convincing loss to California on Thursday thanks in large part to McCullough, who continued the strong start to his collegiate career by also collecting nine rebounds, three blocks and making a key steal as well as the two ensuing free throws with 8.4 seconds left. Trevor Cooney added 14 points for the Orange, who committed 14 turnovers and continued to struggle from behind the arc (3-of-15).

Jarrod Uthoff recorded 20 points and eight rebounds for Iowa (2-2), which suffered a second straight loss to a ranked opponent after succumbing to No. 10 Texas one night earlier. Aaron White had 15 points and 12 boards, while Adam Woodbury chipped in 12 points.

The Orange led by 14 with just over eight minutes left before going more than six minutes without a basket, allowing the Hawkeyes to get within a point three times in the final four minutes. Iowa came down the court several times in the waning seconds needing a 3-pointer to tie, but Syracuse fouled intentionally each time and that strategy proved smart as the Hawkeyes missed a couple of foul shots to seal it.

Christmas scored 13 first-half points as Syracuse led 34-29 at intermission. The Orange scored 13 of the final 18 points of the half - five by Christmas - while holding the Hawkeyes to just five points - all by Woodbury - over the final 7 1/2 minutes of the half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Christmas has scored in double figures in three of the first four games after notching 10-plus points a total of five times last season. ... Neither team's bench offered much scoring support as Syracuse's reserves only chipped in two points and Iowa's bench had eight points on 2-of-11 shooting. ... Syracuse PG Kaleb Joseph had seven points and a season-high eight assists. He also committed four turnovers, giving him 15 in four games.
Top Game Performances
 
Iowa   Syracuse
Jarrod Uthoff 20 Scoring Chris McCullough 20
Mike Gesell 7 Assists Kaleb Joseph 8
Aaron White 12 Rebounds Chris McCullough 9
Aaron White 5 Free Throws Made Chris McCullough 6
Jarrod Uthoff 3 Steals Trevor Cooney 3
Gabriel Olaseni 2 Blocks Chris McCullough 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Iowa 63 40.0 6-21 13-20 16 33 6 6 18
Syracuse 66 41.7 3-15 13-19 17 33 5 10 15