Josh Pace had 13 points, Darryl Watkins added 12 and Demetris Nichols had 11 for Syracuse, which shot 67.3 percent in taking a 53-20 halftime lead.
Sean Taibi had 16 points and seven rebounds, Nolen finished with eight points for the Bears, who shot 25.4 percent for the game.
No. 24 Memphis 102,
Savannah St. 40
In Memphis, Rodney Carney scored 21 points and No. 24 Memphis had six players finish in double figures in a 102-40 victory over Savannah State on Thursday night in the opening round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
Carney was 7-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, for the Tigers (1-0), who will play George Mason in the second round on Saturday night. The Patriots (1-0) beat Ind.-Pur.-Fort Wayne 69-51 Thursday night.
Anthony Rice scored 17 points for Memphis, while Sean Banks finished with 15 and Jeremy Hunt added 14. Freshman forward Joey Dorsey finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds, while freshman point guard Darius Washington had 10 points and eight assists.
Josh Barker led Savannah State (0-1) with 12 points, while Donald Carson added 10.
Memphis steadily built the lead through the first half, leading by as many as 34 points before taking a 55-22 halftime lead.
The advantage was built around solid shooting, particularly from 3-point range, control of the boards and a defense that limited Savannah State to 29 percent shooting and 11 turnovers in the first half.
No. 12 Mississippi St. 53, Fairfield 49
In Birmingham, Alabama, Ontario Harper scored a career-high 17 points and No. 12 Mississippi State, playing without preseason All-America Lawrence Roberts, beat Fairfield 53-49 Thursday night in the first round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
Roberts, a senior forward, sat out because of a one-game suspension from the NCAA over his expenses to attend a tryout before the NBA draft.
The Bulldogs (1-0), who trailed for much of the game before taking the lead for good midway through the second half, will play Birmingham-Southern (1-0) in the second round on Friday night. Birmingham-Southern beat Alabama A&M 79-69 on Thursday.
Winsome Frazier and Gary Ervin hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Bulldogs a 47-39 lead with 1:44 to play.
Deng Gai had 14 points and eight rebounds for Fairfield.
An Australian player has signed a basketball letter of intent with Indiana University, coach Mike Davis said.
Ben Allen, a 2.08m center from Melbourne, Australia, will enroll at Indiana in the fall of 2005 and will be eligible to play basketball in the 2005-2006 season.
Allen is a member of Australia's 18-and-under and 21-and-under national teams.
"If Ben Allen was a high school player in the United States, he would be a top-10, top-15 player nationally," Davis said Thursday. "With his ability to play both inside and outside at his size, he is a special talent."
Davis said Allen could have an immediate impact for the Hoosiers.
"When you add Ben to the guys we will have back next year, we will be one of the most talented teams in the Big Ten," Davis said.
RSS