SYRACUSE, N. Guy Rodgers Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Trevor Cooney hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, C.J. Fair added 15 points, and Syracuse forced 15 turnovers in the second half to pull away from the Panthers 75-54 on Friday night. A three-point Syracuse lead at the half turned into a one-point deficit early in the second half when Devante Wallaces leaner in the lane gave High Point a 40-39 lead. The Orange (11-0) responded with a 28-3 run to erase any doubt about the outcome. "We knew in the second half we had to get our confidence early, but we kind of started off a little bit slow again the first couple of minutes," Fair said. "But then we got it going. We got the stops we werent making in the first half. They were making us work on offence and on the defensive end, taking their time, and we were taking quick shots and not making them work." The Orange are the highest-ranked team High Point has ever played. The Panthers lost to third-ranked North Carolina 94-69 in December 2006 and are 2-26 against the Atlantic Coast Conference, the two wins coming more than 50 years ago. They departed deflated by the score but satisfied with the effort. "Im really proud of my team and the way that they battled and competed," High Point coach Scott Cherry said. "This should give us some confidence to be able to compete with anybody in the country. It doesnt mean were going to beat them, but we should certainly be able to compete with all the teams in our league. Im proud of everybodys effort. They competed the whole game." Cooney, who entered the game shooting 46.3 per cent from beyond the arc, has made at least five 3-pointers in six games this season. Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis had 10 points and matched his season high with nine assists and Jerami Grant also had 10 points for Syracuse. Wallace led High Point with 10 points, Anthony Lindauer had nine, and Dejuan McGaughy and Lorenzo Cugini seven apiece. Leading scorer John Brown, averaging 20.1 points, was held to a season-low six points on 3-of-11 shooting. "Its tough when he plays these guys with this length," Cherry said about Brown, his redshirt sophomore star. "Hes in the inside and hes trying to find space, and theres not a lot of space to work down there. But he did get some good looks. For some reason, he didnt convert them tonight. He was just trying his heart out." Syracuse finished 29 for 54 (53.7 per cent) and scored 38 points in the paint. High Point stayed with the Orange at the outset of the second half. Brown blocked Dajuan Colemans shot and then converted a dunk at the other end to narrow the Syracuse lead to a point. After falling behind for the second and final time in the game, Syracuse responded with an 11-0 spurt in less than 3 minutes. Baye Moussa Keita started it with a putback and Ennis scored two baskets in 6 seconds, hitting a driving layup and then stealing the inbounds pass for another easy bucket. Two free throws by Grant and Cooneys fourth 3 of the game capped the quick spurt and put Syracuse up 50-40 at 14:03. Fairs runner and another 3 from Cooney boosted the lead to 55-43 midway through the half as the Orange overwhelmed the Panthers, who committed 19 turnovers that Syracuse converted into 27 points. "The first half, when youre not active, you dont force turnovers," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We forced four turnovers in the first half, 15 in the second, and that got us out, got us some easy baskets. That was really the difference -- starting to just really play defence." Syracuse received a scare when Grant slipped to the floor with a sprained left ankle midway through the second half, but he walked off OK and retreated to the locker room to get examined. Syracuse pressed early and led by as many as 10 points in the opening half, gaining a 16-6 lead on Cooneys second straight 3-pointer at 12:47. Keitas three-point play kept the Orange lead intact at 11:55, but the Panthers had begun to find their range from outside with Lindauers 3-pointer. After missing six of their first seven shots, the Panthers finished the half 14 of 28 and were 6 of 12 from beyond the arc as four players hit from long range. They made 2 of 8 from beyond the arc in the second half and shot just 7 of 20 (35 per cent) overall. Larry Drew Jersey . Sami Salo scored two goals as the Canucks overcame a hat-trick from Edmonton Oiler rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to win 4-3 in NHL action Saturday. Oscar Robertson Jersey . You can catch all of the action LIVE on TSN2 at 6pm et/3pm pt. The Heat reached that mark Saturday night when they ruined the Philadelphia 76ers home opener. https://www.cheapkingsbasketball.com/952b-reggie-theus-jersey-kings.html . -- The Guelph Storm are moving on to the Western Conference final after defeating the London Knights 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action.NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators wanted experience and a proven winner as their new head coach, and general manager David Poile believes thats what they got in hiring Peter Laviolette -- just the second coach in the franchises history. Laviolette has won nine of the 14 post-season series he has coached with the Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers. He also won the Stanley Cup in 2006 with Carolina and coached the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals in 2010. The Predators announced Tuesday they signed him to a multi-year contract. "Weve taken a big leap in the right direction getting our team back on the path, and that path is toward the playoffs," Poile said at a news conference. The Predators reached the Western Conference semifinals in 2011 and 2012 but missed the playoffs the past two seasons. Laviolette will take over in Nashville once he finishes coaching the United States at the 2014 World Championship. He said in a statement he loves the Predators nucleus starting with defenceman Shea Weber and goaltender Pekka Rinne. "My challenge will be to impart a system that enables our young forwards to thrive and reach their offensive potential," Laviolette said. "Being a perennial Stanley Cup contender requires buy-in, passion and commitment from every player on the roster. I cant wait to get to Nashville and get started on our journey." Poile said hes known Laviolette for years through USA Hockey. Also general manager of the 2014 U.S. Olympic team, Poile named Laviolette one of that teams three coaches. He also interviewed Laviolette for the Predators job along with a couple others he did not name originally planning to hire his new coach in June. Openings in Florida, Carolina, Washington and Vancouver prompted Poile to move quicker to avoid losing Laviolette. Poile said he was very comfortable hiring Laviolette. "Basically in some form, I was interviewing him all year long," Poile said. Laviolette has been a head coach over 12 seasons starting with the New York Islanders between 2001 and 2003, Carolina from 2003-09 and Philadelphia frrom 2009 until October. Sacramento Kings Shirts. He has 389 wins and 866 career points and six playoff berths, winning nine series. He helped the Islanders end a seven-year post-season drought with back-to-back berths in 2002 and 2003, and the Flyers lost the cup to Chicago in six games in 2010. Laviolette is considered an offensive-minded coach with his teams finishing in the Top 10 in six of his eight full seasons and not lower than 13th in goals scored. That helps fill a major need for the Predators who scored only 216 goals this season when they finished three points out of the final Western Conference playoff berth. Poile said he wanted a coach with a different style of play, and Laviolettes teams play more up-tempo and are more offensive oriented. Thats what Poile wants out of the Predators. The general manager said theyve been working to improve their forwards, including trading Martin Erat in March 2013 for Filip Forsberg and David Legwand to Detroit this March for Calle Jarnkrok. Forward also is likely to be the position the Predators draft with the 11th pick overall in June. Young forwards already on the roster will get a second chance with Laviolette. Mix that with what Poile believes is one of the best defences in the NHL, and he expects the Predators to be back in the playoffs next year. "With his system and different ideas if you will, I think offensively we have a chance to be a lot better under his leadership," Poile said. Forward Matt Cullen helped Laviolette win the Stanley Cup in Carolina and is looking forward to playing for him again. "Hes a great fit for our team and what we need going forward," Cullen said on a conference call. "And I just think a lot of Peter as a coach. Hes a good person, and he just has that real ability to bring out the best in all of his players." The Predators also hired Kevin McCarthy as an assistant coach. He joins assistant coaches Phil Housley and Lane Lambert. They worked with Barry Trotz, the only other coach for this franchise who the Predators announced April 14 that he would not return. ' ' '