Golden Eagles miss James in OT loss to Orange

MILWAUKEE — Marquette is a different team with Dominic James wearing a suit instead of a uniform. And Syracuse's Jonny Flynn and Andy Rautins made sure the Golden Eagles' free fall will continue into the postseason.

Flynn scored 20 of his 24 points after halftime, and Rautins added a key 3-pointer and layup as the 25th-ranked Orange beat the 13th-ranked Golden Eagles 86-79 in overtime Saturday.

It was the fourth straight win for resurgent Syracuse (23-8, 11-7 Big East) and the fourth straight loss for Marquette (23-8, 12-6) in the regular season finale for both.

"We ended out on as good a note as we could," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We started out with four (wins) in this league, and we ended with four. We'll forget about the in-between."

Jerel McNeal scored 25 points for the Golden Eagles in the final home appearance for their trio of senior guards: McNeal, James and Wesley Matthews.

James again watched from the bench, his season having come to an end when he broke a bone in his foot in the opening minutes of a Feb. 25 loss to Connecticut.

Putting their current slide aside, James and his classmates spoke optimistically about the team's chances in a postgame ceremony.

"We still have a lot to accomplish," James told the crowd.

The Golden Eagles have proved they can stay in contention against tough opponents without James, but still walked away empty-handed from a stretch of games that would have been brutal even with James.

"I think they're competing their guts out," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. "We're just coming up short."

Marquette's four straight losses have come against Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

"They've lost three games to three No. 1 seeds coming into this, so they are still a real good team," Boeheim said.

The Golden Eagles showed that in rallying from a seven-point deficit in the final 5 minutes of regulation — then watched the Orange regain control in overtime.

"It felt like a burden came off our back," Flynn said. "We were fighting so long."

Boeheim was happy with the victory, but didn't enjoy watching undersized Marquette outrebound his team 42-38 and outscore Syracuse 33-14 in second-chance points.