Sports

Syracuse rally sinks Cincinnati

With Cincinnati and Syracuse tied and the clock ticking down in the final minute, the Orange’s Jerami Grant drove the lane, and when his shot didn’t fall arms flailed all around the rim trying to corral the ball.

Somehow, it trickled in with 19.4 seconds left and No. 3 Syracuse (18-1, 6-0 Big East) escaped with a 57-55 victory over No. 21 Cincinnati (16-4, 4-3) yesterday at the Carrier Dome, its second scintillating win in three days.

“We didn’t want to lose,” said Michael Carter-Williams, whose dagger 3-pointer from the top of the key tied it at 55-all with 80 seconds left. “None of us like losing. We wanted to do anything to win that game.’’

Syracuse had trailed by seven points with just over five minutes left, rallying for the victory in the final minute just as it had at then-No. 1 Louisville on Saturday in a 70-68 win. Carter-Williams had a go-ahead 3-pointer with 5:28 remaining, and his steal and slam dunk put the lid on that one as the Orange beat the Cardinals.

C.J. Fair was credited with the game-winning tip but admitted afterward he wasn’t sure who hit the ball.

“There were bodies down there and the ball just went in the hoop,” Fair said. “I just raised my hand. I thought I did it, but maybe I got help. I don’t know.”

Cincinnati’s Cashmere Wright missed a 3 from straight on with 2.9 seconds left, allowing the Orange to escape with their 35th straight win at home, the longest active streak in Division I.

Sean Kilpatrick led Cincinnati with 21 points.

Georgetown 63, N. Dame 47

Otto Porter scored 19 points to lead the visiting Hoyas (13-4, 3-3) The Irish (15-4, 3-3) recorded season lows in points, field goal percentage (35 percent) and assists (11).

Loyola 65, Fairfield 60

Dylon Cormier scored 21 points and Erik Etherly added 16 as both players crossed the 1,000-point threshold for the visiting Greyhounds (14-6, 6-2 MAAC). Derek Needham had 23 points for Fairfield (10-10, 2-6).

UConn 79, Duke 49

In women’s basketball, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 21 points while Kelly Faris added 18 points and 12 rebounds to help No. 3 Connecticut (17-1) beat No. 4 Duke (16-1).