Johnson scores 16 as Syracuse beats DePaul 59-57

It's been a while, but DePaul restored the roar Saturday afternoon at Allstate Arena.

Early on their shots were falling, their passes were crisp, their defense solid - frankly, they were playing great basketball and jumped out to a 33-15 lead over No. 4 Syracuse with 8:50 left in the first half in front of 11,554 stunned but happy fans.

"It was an exciting crowd, we jumped out to a fast start ... we had a feeling that we were going to win," DePaul guard Will Walker said.

Not so fast.

As DePaul interim coach Tracy Webster predicted earlier in the week, each team would get its run and Syracuse's came immediately and with force - 16 straight - helping narrow the Demons' lead to 35-31 at halftime.

It stayed close throughout the second half and it wasn't until the final minutes of the game that Syracuse grabbed its first lead courtesy of a layup by Scoop Jardine, setting up a thrilling finish.

And in the final seconds it came down to Walker, but his potential game-winning 3-pointer just missed, allowing the Orange to slink out of town with a 59-57 victory.

"I don't think it's ever good for your team to stink and we stunk; we played awful," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "Tonight, we played two great minutes - not usually enough to win."

It wouldn't have been had Walker, who led all scorers with 21 points, connected at the end like he thought he had when he took that final shot.

"I really think I'm going to hit every shot when I let it go," Walker said. "In high school, I've always hit that shot, so it's a little bit different now.

"But I can't keep thinking about it. I've got to go keep shooting the next game to get it out of my mind. It's already out of my mind now."

That the Demons opted to go for a long-range game-winner instead of taking the conservative approach and play for overtime was not a problem for Webster.

"Will's last 3-pointer, I'll have him shoot it again and again and again," Webster said. "He better take that shot."

Walker was the only Blue Demon in double figures in scoring, while the Orange (21-1, 8-1) were paced by Wes Johnson with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Had the Blue Demons (8-13, 1-8) rallied for the win, it would have been the first time they've beaten a top-five team since December 2, 2006, when they downed Kansas 64-57 at Allstate Arena.

"Close but no cigar," Webster said. "I told our kids they did a good job of trying to follow the game plan.

"These kids battled, they fought. Hopefully we'll continue to have a carryover."

Boeheim is hoping for anything but when the Orange next takes on Providence.

"If we play like this Tuesday," he said, "we'll lose by 40."