MILWAUKEE, WI - The SU men's basketball team may have lost its chance to repeat as Big East regular season champions after dropping a 74-71 decision at Marquette Monday night.
The Orange had an 11-point lead in the first half and were up by seven with less than eight minutes to play. But the Golden Eagles went on a 19-4 run to take command of the contest and despite a flurry of late three-pointers the Orange couldn't catch up.
Marquette's Devante Gardner hit all seven of his field goal attempts and twelve of thirteen from the free throw line to record a game-high 26 points and eight rebounds.
Syracuse was led by C.J. Fair's 20 points and seven rebounds while James Southerland added 15 points off the bench.
SU (22-6, 10-5) falls into a fourth-place tie with Notre Dame in the Big East standings with three games to play. Next up is the 10th-ranked Louisville Cardinals at the Carrier Dome Saturday at noon.