Syracuse, NY – Returning to the Carrier Dome proved to be the perfect elixir for Syracuse.
Behind a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds by C.J. Fair, the ninth- ranked Orange got back to their winning ways with a 63-47 victory over No. 25 Notre Dame.
Jerami Grant, playing against his older brother, Jerian, scored a career-high 14 points for Syracuse (19-3, 7-2 Big East), which avoided losing three straight for the first time since a four-game slide from Jan. 17-29, 2011.
"Defensively we played just as good of a game that we would've wanted to play," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. "I think offensively we were a little more patient and we moved the ball a little bit better."
Rakeem Christmas had 12 points and four blocks for the Orange, who extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 36 games.
Jerian Grant paced the Fighting Irish (18-5, 6-4) with 15 points. Jack Cooley registered his 15th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Notre Dame, which had its winning streak snapped at three games.
Leading by only six in the second half, Fair ignited a 9-0 run with a basket. Christmas sandwiched a Trevor Cooney a 3-pointer with a putback slam and a layup, putting the Orange up 43-28 with 11:08 remaining.
Notre Dame responded with a 7-0 surge before two Fair free throws and a Michael Carter-Williams trey made it 48-35 with 6:04 to play. Syracuse led comfortably the rest of the way.
The Fighting Irish got off to a shaky start, committing five turnovers while falling behind 10-0. Notre Dame missed its first five shots, but recovered to score 11 unanswered points to briefly seize the lead.
Syracuse moved back in front on two Fair free throws and wound up settling for a 30-24 halftime advantage.
Game Notes
Brandon Triche finished with seven points, six assists and five rebounds for Syracuse ... Carter-Williams had eight assists and three steals ... Notre Dame hasn't won at Syracuse since Jan. 30, 2007.
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