SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuses vaunted 2/3 zone was way too much for Monmouth to handle.The Orange (3-0) limited Monmouth (1-2) to 21 second-half points and broke open a tight game en route to a 71-50 rout Friday night.The zone forced the Hawks to 31 percent shooting from the field and 14 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-29) for the game. They were 1 for 18 from the 3-point line in the second half.Andrew White scored all of his 18 points in the first half and freshman forward Taurean Thompson added 12 for Syracuse. Tyus Battle had nine points, and Frank Howard chipped in with eight points and six assists for Syracuse. Tyler Lydon had four blocks.Justin Robinson led the Hawks with 11 points, and Collin Stewart had eight.I thought our defense in the second half was really good, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. They (Monmouth) got some looks that they missed but our defense was pretty good, we pushed them off spots and made them take tough shots.White said the Hawks played into Syracuses hands in the second half.The zone really forces you to take deep 3s, said White, a fifth-year transfer playing zone for the first time. They took the bait and took some really deep shots. If you can make a 25-footer you deserve everything you get but they played into our hands and we did a good job keeping the ball out of the post. It was a pretty good defensive night.Point guard Frank Howard thought Syracuses effort on the defensive end was the best of the young season.Im not saying theyre not a great team but I think the zone made them work harder than they normally do. We just played good defense today, and it was definitely the zone. We stepped it up a notch when it came to that.Anytime you can hold a team to 21 points and with the way they usually shoot its a great confidence builder for this team, Lydon said.The Orange led 37-29 at the half, but established control by going on a 17-6 run, led by Howards six points.Theyve had great teams for a long, long time, said Monmouth coach King Rice, a Binghamton, NY native who grew up watching Syracuse in the Carrier Dome and labelled Fridays experience as his biggest thrill as a coach. This one right here has potential to be one of their best ones, but right at this moment its still early.BIG PICTUREMonmouth: The Hawks followed up a heartbreaking loss at South Carolina with a poor performance Friday but should be able to right the ship against Cornell.Syracuse: This was the biggest test for the Orange so far and Syracuse passed with flying colors.MISSING AT THE START:MAAC Rookie of the Year Micah Seaborn found a seat at the start of the game but entered at 16:22 of the first half.THE KING RETURNS: Monmouth coach King Rice, a native of Binghamton, NY, was a highly coveted SU recruit but opted for North Carolina. When Monmouth played SU in Syracuse Dec. 8, 2012, Rice was suspended for one game for his criticism of game officials so this was his first time coaching in the Carrier Dome.A SYRACUSE CONNECTION: Monmouth assistant coach Rick Callahan was an assistant under Jim Boeheim.REMEMBERING THE PEARL:Syracuse University is honoring the legacy of Dwayne Pearl Washington by establishing the Pearl Washington Endowed Fund for Continuing Education. The school has set a goal to raise $1 million to endow the fund.TIP INS:Monmouth: Chris Brady has played in every game since he arrived on the Monmouth campus. Fridays matchup was his 104th..Brady was averaging 15.5 points a game but scored just four on 2-of-6 shooting. .Justin Robinson was just 4-of-16 and 1-of-10 from the 3.Micah Seaborn was 3-of-13.For the first time in program history the Hawks received preseason votes in the Top 25. The Hawks returned 88.7 percent of its scoring from a year ago.Syracuse: Tyler Lydon, who appeared to be out of slump in Syracuses last game against Holy Cross, reverted to his early-season shooting woes. He was just 2-of-9. But he had seven rebounds and four blocks.DaJuan Coleman and Tyler Roberson had several good-looking outside shots.BIG PICTUREMonmouth: The Hawks followed up a heartbreaking loss at South Carolina with a poor performance Friday but should be able to right the ship against Cornell.Syracuse: This was the biggest test for the Orange so far and Syracuse passed with flying colors.UP NEXTMonmouth returns home to face Cornell on Tuesday night.Syracuse continues its homestand Tuesday night against South Carolina State.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25Cheap Jerseys Store . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. 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MINNEAPOLIS -- Candace Parker and the Sparks jumped with joy on the court, joined in celebration by a guy named Magic Johnson who once made basketball championships a habit in Los Angeles.Parkers old college coach, the late Pat Summitt, was there in spirit too.Nneka Ogwumikes short jumper with 3.1 seconds left, off the rebound of her blocked shot, gave the Sparks a 77-76 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in the deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night for the franchises first title in 14 years.Parker had 28 points and 12 rebounds to earn MVP honors of the Finals and her first WNBA title, capping a trying year marked by the death of the beloved Summitt, with whom she won two NCAA championships at Tennessee.The journey to get here I wouldnt have wanted to do it with anybody else, Parker said. Its amazing when you surround yourself with good people how fun it is.Sparks coach Brian Agler started his postgame news conference by playing a recording of the Tennessee fight song, Rocky Top, from a phone in front of him at the podium. Parker cried as she leaned over to hug her coach.Ive never been around somebody that has been critiqued so hard, Agler said, and Ive never been around anyone Im happy for than Candace.Said Ogwumike: Shes been through so much. Shes probably the most misunderstood person in the league. I told her I wanted her to get one.Parker heard Summitts voice in her head, recalling the time-worn advice to focus on defense and rebounding.You cant control if shots go in or shots dont, but what you can control is defense and rebounding, Parker said.Rebekkah Brunson made one of two free throws with 23.4 seconds left to give the Lynx a 74-73 lead. Parker answered with a layup on the other end that Maya Moore countered with a jumper. Then Ogwumike hustled her way over to the loose ball after Sylvia Folwes blocked her first attempt. She coolly swished it.Lindsay Whalens heave from just inside halfcourt bounced high off the backboard, setting off the celebration for the Sparks and silencing the sellout crowd of 19,423.Moore had 23 points and 11 assists for the Lynx, who fell short of matching the WNBA record of four championships. The Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997-2000. The Lynx played in the finals for the fifth time in the last six years. They won three.The team that won this game deserved to win the game, Moore said, so its just hard to have it come that close.Chelsea Gray reeled off 11 consecutive points for the Sparks, capping that run with a smooth up-and-under layup to put them in front 60-59 early inn the fourth quarter.ddddddddddddParkers putback with 3:06 left gave L.A. a 71-63 lead, putting the Lynx in trouble.But Moore seized the moment with a 3-pointer that brought Minnesota within four points, and Parker forced an off-balance 3 on the other end. Whalen stole the ball from Kristi Toliver and finished the fast break with a layup to tie the game at 71, setting up the final flurry.On the next play, Ogwumike hit a jumper that appeared to come after the shot clock expired. The officials signaled for a review but never looked at the basket. Los Angeles led 73-71 with just over a minute left. Seimone Augustus answered with a jumper, but those points proved to be critical.Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, making sure to credit the Sparks for their performance was livid about the non-call afterward.Its not enough just to apologize and send out a memo that they got something wrong, OK? These players are so invested, and something must be done about the officiating in this league. Because it is not fair to these great players that we have, Reeve said.The WNBAs new postseason format with the field ordered by overall record regardless of conference sure worked well, leading to this classic matchup between the two teams that fought all summer for the top seed and featuring several of the leagues biggest stars.I hope that we gained a lot of fans from around the world and around this country, Augustus said.The game was remarkably close, with 24 lead changes and 11 ties with no team ever leading by double digits.CHAMPIONSHIP ATMOSPHEREThe sea of green T-shirts donned by almost everyone in the crowd produced a deafening soundtrack from start to finish befitting a game for the trophy.Even Johnson was there, wearing all black while sitting courtside to root for the Sparks team hes a part-owner of and spoke to after the loss at home in Game 4 on Sunday. His presence was all the more impressive considering the Dodgers, the other pro club hes invested in, were playing baseball in Los Angeles at the same time in Game 5 of their National League championship series.They had to believe they could do it on a tough home court. This team Minnesota is tremendous, Johnson said. We just beat the champions so I give them a lot of credit to.WOLF TRACKSThe Lynx had celebrity backing, too, with Timberwolves players including Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Cole Aldrich and Nemanja Belica in the seats to support the women they share an arena with. ' ' '