Syracuse, N.Y. - Freshman Christopher Johnson (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst), sophomore Kevin Roth (Lake View, N.Y./St. Francis) and junior Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) reached double figures in the scoring column, but the Le Moyne College men's basketball team fell to Syracuse University, 85-51, in front of 16,755 fans at the Carrier Dome. It was the first regular season game for both teams and marked first round action in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.

Johnson netted all four of Le Moyne's three-pointers and led the Dolphins with 16 points off the bench. Ekperigin scored 14 points and finished with a team-high seven rebounds. Roth chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds.

Syracuse scored the first 13 points of game, with Ekperigin ending Le Moyne's scoreless drought with a lay-up at the 15:16 mark of the first half. The Dolphins' offense struggled to find its groove in the first half, shooting 35 percent on 9-of-26 shooting from the field. Le Moyne used a five-point run near the end of the first half on a Roth lay-up and a Johnson three-pointer to pull within 18.

Le Moyne found more success on the offensive end in the second stanza, netting 32 second-half points. Roth poured in the Dolphins' first six points of the second half in a two-minute stretch and Johnson scored 13 of his points in the second frame. Junior Damani Corbin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass) put home one of four Le Moyne dunks at the 9:10 mark to cut the Syracuse lead to 23, the closest the Dolphins would make it for the rest of the game.

The point guard duo of Corbin and freshman James Cormier (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull/Proctor Academy) combined for 10 assists. Corbin's final line included six points, four assists and three rebounds. Junior Mike McDonough (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg) scored three points and pulled down three boards in five minutes of action off the bench. Cormier finished with two points and two steals to go along with his six assists.

The Orange saw five players reach double-figures with sophomore Jonny Flynn scoring a game-high 17 points. Junior Eric Devendorf netted 14 and a trio of juniors of Arinze Onuaku, Paul Harris and Andy Rautins put in 12 points apiece for Syracuse. Harris finished with a double-double behind his 10 rebounds. Rautins finished with nine assists on the night.

Le Moyne (0-1) opens its Northeast-10 Conference schedule when it hosts The College of Saint Rose at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Ted Grant Court. The game will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable Sports throughout New York State. Le Moyne alums Don Familo '86 and Chris Granozio '86 will also have the call on ESPN Radio 1260. The pair called its 450^th consecutive Le Moyne basketball broadcast Sunday night.
 

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Syracuse 85, Le Moyne 51
Le Moyne (0-1)           19        32        -           51
Syracuse (1-0)             38        47        -           85