Syracuse stops Red Storm in Big East quarterfinal
By: John Kucko
Updated: March 10, 2011
(New York City) Freshman Fab Melo had his best game of the season with 12 points, 4 on late layups to help Syracuse to a Big East quarterfinal win over St. John's, 79-73 at Madison Square Garden.
Brandon Triche had a season-high 22 points for the fourth-seeded Orange (26-6), who will meet ninth-seeded and 21st-ranked Connecticut (24-9) in the semifinals Friday night. The Huskies beat top-seeded Pittsburgh 76-74 on Kemba Walker's buzzer-beating jumper Thursday.
Melo, a 7-foot native of Brazil who has been inconsistent in his rookie season, gave the Orange the lead for good at 70-68 with a layup off an inbounds pass with 2 minutes left.
He added another layup on a bounce pass from Triche that made it 74-70 with 32 seconds left.
Dwight Hardy had 22 points for the Red Storm (21-11), who advanced to the quarterfinals with a controversial second-round win
