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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Ron Slay made it look easy.
Slay, usually the first man off the Tennessee bench, scored a
career-high 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Friday night as the
No. 4 Vols rebounded from their first loss of the season and beat
Syracuse 83-70.
"The offense was clicking. I had a lot of open shots and I made
them," said Slay, who was 9-for-15 from the floor. "They started
worrying about us shooting the ball and we found the soft spot in
their zone."
The Orangemen (9-1) also were worried about fouls, and
rightfully so. Syracuse had eked out wins over Ohio State and
DePaul in the Great Alaska shootout earlier in the season and
needed all three of its centers to get the job done.
But even with 15 fouls to give, Tennessee's aggressive attack
inside was too much for the cold-shooting Orangemen (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 12 AP), who had three
starters foul out.
|  | | Tennessee's Jenis Grindstaff splits Preston Shumpert and Kueth Duany on his way to the basket Friday. |
The Vols (10-1) quickly put Syracuse's trio of centers -- Billy
Celuck, Jeremy McNeil and Ethan Cole -- in foul trouble. Celuck and
McNeil each had three, as did forward Damone Brown, and Cole two in
the first half.
Celuck, the 7-foot starter, fouled out with 9:40 to go and
McNeil and Brown followed later.
"Their inside game was a little too much for our big guys,"
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We got beat up pretty good
inside on the boards. Our big guy (Celuck) got in foul trouble, got
timid and allowed Slay to get inside to do what he wanted to do."
And that helped the Vols outrebound Syracuse 52-26 and win
easily, despite 26 turnovers and 16 steals by the Orangemen.
It was a nice rebound for Tennessee after Tuesday night's 107-89
loss to No. 14 Virginia in the Jimmy V Classic.
"We've been trying to build a team with really strong
character," Tennessee coach Jerry Green said. "The other night we
were a little embarrassed, but I think that game might help us in
the long run."
Slay scored the most points by a player against Syracuse this
season. Isiah Victor added 17 points, while Tony Harris and Jenis
Grindstaff each had 11.
DeShaun Williams had 20 points for Syracuse before also fouling
out late in the game, while Brown had 13 and Preston Shumpert
matched his season low with 14.
Shumpert, who entered the game averaging 23.6 points, was just
1-for-6 in the first half for three points, and his only basket
came on a goaltending call against Charles Hathaway with 6:15 to
go.
By the time Shumpert scored three straight baskets to try to
rally the Orangemen midway through the second half, they were
trailing 58-47. Syracuse shot 38.6 percent for the game, while
Tennessee shot 47.8 percent.
"Our big men have to not rely on their hands as much and learn
to move their feet," said Shumpert, who did not make a 3-pointer
for the first time this season. "When we tried to block shots,
they went around us."
Brown's steal and slam, and a block by McNeil ignited the crowd
one last time and pulled Syracuse within 65-55 with just under
seven minutes remaining. But Grindstaff's long 3-pointer from the
top of the key on Tennessee's next trip down the court quickly
restored silence.
Neither team was able to put together any consistency in the
first half. In the first four minutes, the teams were a combined
2-for-14 and the score was tied at 6, one of five ties in the
period.
After Syracuse got consecutive baskets by Williams and Brown in
a 26-second span to put the Orangemen up 25-22 with 5:06 remaining,
the Vols called a timeout and came back with a 7-0 run. Terrence
Woods hit a 3 and Victor scored the other four points in the spurt.
Tennessee scored half of its first-half points on foul shots and
led 36-29 at the break.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Tennessee Clubhouse
Syracuse Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Tennessee's Tony Harris cuts through the lane and finds an open Charles Hathaway for the jam.
avi: 1177 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Tennessee's Isiah Victor tips the rebound to Tony Harris who sends it back to Victor for the basket and foul.
avi: 1134 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Syracuse's Allen Griffin spins through the lane then lays it up on the backboard.
avi: 661 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Syracuse's Damone Brown drives baseline and follows his miss with the bucket.
avi: 551 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Ron Slay stops to talk with ESPN's Bill Raftery after Tennessee's victory over Syracuse.
wav: 608 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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