No. 17 Syracuse beats Coppin State 82-71

Andy Rautins called it just another day at the office.

Some day!

Rautins equaled Gerry McNamara's school record with nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 29 points on Monday night to lead No. 17 Syracuse to an 82-71 victory over Coppin State.

"Right from the start I knew I was in a zone," said Rautins, who was 9-for-16 from beyond the arc. "I found myself open with a lot of space. They (the Eagles) continued to play off me. I don't know why they did it, but it worked to our advantage."

Especially when the game was teetering on the brink much like the Orange's lone loss of the season a week ago to Cleveland State.

Coppin State (1-8) fell behind by double digits three times and each time rallied to keep the game close. But after Tywain McKee's steal and layup and two free throws by Lenny Young whittled Syracuse's 11-point lead to 61-57 with 8:35 left, Rautins took over.

Starting for the second straight game in place of suspended guard Eric Devendorf, Rautins fed Paul Harris for a driving baseline layup and followed with three 3-pointers in a 2-minute span to give the Orange a 72-59 lead with 5:38 left.

"They were supposed to find him (Rautins)," Coppin State coach Ron Mitchell said. "They didn't find him early, they found him in the middle, and they didn't find him late. That's the equivalent of losing."

"Without that, it would have been a very tough, down-to-the-wire game," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said.

McNamara established the Syracuse record against BYU in the NCAA tournament in 2004.

It was the fifth game in nine days and final nonconference game for the Orange (12-1), who begin Big East play at home in a week against Seton Hall.

"We've come through this first part of our season as well as could be expected," Boeheim said. "To put ourselves in this position is pretty good. We've got to get a little better. We'll be playing teams that are better."

The Orange didn't take command until late mainly because of McKee, who had a season-high 31 points and also led the Eagles with nine rebounds, six steals, and five assists.

"He is so steady for us, "Mitchell said. "He's our leader. That was an incredible performance."

Rautins, a career 35 percent shooter from long range entering the season, was just 24-for-78 (30.8 percent) from beyond the arc before Monday. But Boeheim was quick to put the record-tying performance in perspective.

"We got great shots for Andy. He hasn't been getting those shots," Boeheim said. "When we can get him those shots, he's going to make those shots. He's a 50 percent shooter if he gets those kind of looks from the 3. He's never going to get those shots (in the Big East), ever."

Jonny Flynn had 10 points and 10 assists for his third career double-double for Syracuse, while Harris had 15 points and nine rebounds, Arinze Onuaku 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Rick Jackson 10 points and six rebounds.

Jordan Lee had 12 points and Lenny Young 10 for Coppin State.

Rautins was rarely contested when he shot as the Eagles worried about Syracuse's big men inside. Onuaku and Jackson combined to shoot 11-of-15.

Rautins, who also had six assists, hit five 3-pointers in the first half to keep the Orange in front. After McKee's steal and layup pulled Coppin State within 28-26 with 6:13 left, Rautins hit consecutive 3s from the top of the key for an eight-point lead.

The Eagles then rallied behind consecutive 3s by McKee to make it 37-32 before Rautins fed Jackson for a layup. Flynn followed with two free throws and fed Harris for a layup, and Harris converted a three-point play at the buzzer.

Syracuse outscored Coppin State 18-8 over the final 6:13 to take a 46-34 halftime lead.