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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Notre Dame hands first loss to No. 1 Syracuse

Jack Cooley scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Saturday night as Notre Dame upset No. 1 Syracuse 67-58 in South Bend, Ind., and handed the Orange their first loss after 20 straight victories.

Fans stormed the court after the Irish’s rousing victory. It was the eighth time Notre Dame has beaten a No. 1 team – that ties for fourth-most all time, with North Carolina having the most with 12.

The Orange (20-1, 7-1 Big East) played without starting center Fab Melo, who did not make the trip and will not play Monday against Cincinnati.

Without Melo in the middle, the 6-foot-9, 248-pound Cooley was a major force for Notre Dame (12-8, 4-3) and the Irish won the rebound battle 38-25.

Melo had started all 20 of the Orange’s games, was their leading rebounder with 5.7 a game, averaged 7.2 points and three blocks. School officials gave no explanation why the talented center did not make the trip. C.J. Fair started for the Orange.

James Southerland scored 15 points for Syracuse, which shot just 34 percent and had its lowest scoring game of the season. Scott Martin added 13 for Notre Dame, which hit 50 percent of its field-goal attempts.

Southerland’s 3-pointer with 53.9 seconds left brought the Orange to within 62-56 before the Irish held on as Jerian Grant sank four free throws in the final 32 seconds.

It was the first time the Irish have beaten a top-ranked team since 1987 when they defeated North Carolina, also in South Bend. One of the Irish’s most dramatic victories over a No. 1 came in 1974, when they stopped UCLA’s 88-game winning streak 71-70.

Florida State 76, (4) Duke 73: Michael Snaer hit a 3-pointer as time expired and the Seminoles (13-6, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Blue Devils (16-3, 4-1) in Durham, N.C., snapping Duke’s 45-game home-court win streak.

With the game tied, Luke Loucks sprinted up the middle of the court before zipping a pass over to Snaer on the right side in front of the FSU bench. Snaer launched a shot that dropped cleanly through the net, stunning the once-rowdy crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium and sending the Seminoles’ bench spilling onto the court in celebration.

(5) Missouri 89, (3) Baylor 88: Ricardo Ratliffe scored a career-high 27 points and the Tigers held on for an victory in Waco, Texas, after a furious late rally by the Bears (17-2, 4-2 Big 12).

Ratliffe had a big two-handed slam dunk midway through the second half when he scored six points in an 8-0 spurt that put the Tigers (18-1, 5-1) up 68-58. Missouri still had a 10-point lead with 3:07 left then didn’t score again until Ratliffe’s two free throws with a minute left. Missouri had to make 10 of 12 free throws in the final minute for the victory.