March 4, 1999

Box Score

NEW YORK (AP) -Syracuse used the inside presence of Etan Thomas and the backcourt skills of Jason Hart and Allen Griffin to wear down Villanova and beat the Wildcats 70-62 in Thursday's quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

The Orangemen advanced to the semifinals Friday night against No. 3 Connecticut, which survived a scare to defeat Seton Hall 57-56. It is the 15th semifinal appearance for the Orangemen in the 20-year history of the Big East tournament.

Villanova had no answer for Thomas, the conference's defensive player of the year, who dominated under the basket. He finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds and repeatedly converted passes from Hart, who had six assists, and Griffin, who had four.

After Villanova hit four straight 3-pointers to grab the early lead, Syracuse went on a 12-0 run midway through the first half to move in front by six. It was a lead that increased to as many as 16 points in the second half as the Orangemen (21-10) converted a series of alley-oops passes that sometimes made the game look like a warmup drill.

Thomas and Ryan Blackwell, who had 16 points, converted a pair of the high-flying passes from Griffin and Hart near the end of the first half as Syracuse opened a 32-24 lead. Then Thomas, Hart and Blackwell sparked an 18-9 run at the start of the second half to bury the Wildcats.

Only a late surge by John Celestand, who finished with 24 points, got Villanova (21-10) close at the end. Celestand scored the last nine points for the Wildcats but a basket by Thomas and four free throws by Hart and two by Blackwell kept Syracuse in control.

Blackwell finished with 16, Hart had 13 and Damone Brown added 10 for Syracuse. Brian Lynch had 11, and Malik Allen and Howard Brown had 10 each for Villanova.

By HAL BOCK
AP Sports Writer