No. 4 Orange win at Madison Square Garden — Top 2013-14 Syracuse basketball moments

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Syracuse defeated St. John's last year

Each Thursday over the summer, The Juice Online will be counting down the top 10 moments in the 2013-14 basketball season. We continue our countdown with No. 4, Syracuse’s 68-63 win against St. John’s in New York City on Dec. 15.

WHAT HAPPENED: Syracuse used to call Madison Square Garden its second home. Now, it will be a place where they play the occasional non-conference game.

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Syracuse held off a late rally from St. John’s

Playing at Madison Square Garden for the first time as a member of the ACC, the Orange had to rally past former Big East foe St. John’s, 68-63.

Syracuse has had plenty of fond memories at the Garden, where the Big East used to play its conference championship. The Orange won five conference tournaments during that time, most recently in the 2005-06 season. Fans and alumni used to pack the Garden, filling it with orange colored apparel.

But SU left for the ACC following the 2012-13 season, and the conference hosts its tournament in Greensboro, NC. Trips to New York City, which were a regularity, will become no more than a once-a-season trip.

Syracuse made the most of that opportunity.

Trailing by a basket with 6:53 left, Fair came off a screen on the right baseline and drained a 15-footer to tie the game at 58. The Orange would go to their reliable senior two more times down the stretch, and Fair would deliver each time on that same play.

The last jumper came with 1:41 left and gave SU a 66-61 lead, and put the game out of reach. Fair and Tyler Ennis would each finish with a game-high 21 points.

“We went to CJ, and he made a couple of tough plays,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “He’s going to get the ball and these opportunities, and he’s prepared for that.”

WHY IT’S NO. 4: There was a lot of chatter as to who was “New York’s College Team” in the days leading up to this game. The Red Storm, who has been largely dormant in this rivalry over the last decade having lost 7 straight to the Orange, certainly made a push for that title, giving the Orange all they could handle in the second half. With head coach Steve Lavin bringing two highly touted recruiting classes over the past few years and Syracuse set to play the Johnnies in non-conference play over at least the next two seasons, the rivalry can still retake the form of the 80s and 90s. It certainly felt that way on Sunday, with a 60-40 edge to the Orange fans in the seats with the fan bases going back and forth with each crucial play in the second half.

Check in next week as we reveal No. 3 on our countdown.

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.