Final Score: (3) Syracuse 71, Cincinnati 54

Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Andy Rautins had 20 points, as third-ranked Syracuse downed Cincinnati, 71-54, at Fifth Third Arena.

Kris Joseph had 17 points, while Scoop Jardine and Arinze Onuaku each chipped in with 11 points for the Orange (23-1, 10-1 Big East), who have won 10 straight games.

"In the second half, our defense got better," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. "I thought offensively, we got better. I think we only turned it over once in the second half. We executed as well as we have all year in the second half."

Ibrahima Thomas had 13 points and seven rebounds, while Yancy Gates added 11 points and five boards for the Bearcats (14-9, 5-6), who have dropped three of four.

"We were able to control the tempo and have it where we wanted it for 30 minutes," said Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin. "We scored five points in the last 12 minutes against the best team in the country. If you do that, you won't win."

Early in the second half, six straight points from Syracuse allowed for a 38-32 lead on a Rick Jackson layup just under three minutes in.

Cincinnati later came back with a 7-0 run to take a 49-43 lead on a Cashmere Wright three-ball with 12 1/2 minutes to play.

The Orange then used a 10-1 burst to gain a 53-50 lead on a pair of free throws from Jardine with 8:40 left in the contest.

After a Cincinnati bucket, Syracuse scored the next six points and held a 59-52 lead with 6 1/2 minutes to play on a Joseph layup.

Two free throws from Thomas was followed by a layup from Rautins and a three- pointer off the hands of Joseph to give Syracuse a 10-point lead with 4:42 to play.

That proved to break the back of Cincinnati as it didn't score a single point for the remainder of the game.

The Bearcats held an 11-2 lead about five minutes in after Lance Stephenson put in a pair of free throws.

The Orange, though, later scored 11 straight points and took a 17-15 lead on an Onuaku layup with a bit over eight minutes to play in the first half.

From there the score stayed tight with neither side building a lead of more than four points, and Syracuse closed the half with a jumper from Joseph and a free throw from Jardine to take a 32-30 lead into the break.

Game Notes

Cincinnati plays at Connecticut on Saturday...Syracuse hosts Connecticut on Wednesday...The Orange hold a 5-2 lead over Cincinnati in the all-time series.

02/07 18:28:32 ET