Dion Waiters had a team-high 15 points and knocked down two free throws with 49 seconds left as No. 3 Syracuse held off Marshall 62-56 at the Carrier Dome.

Waiters had two thunderous dunks that were part of a 15-4 run with five minutes left in the first half. The Orange (9-0) never trailed and are now 35-1 against non-conference opponents at home since 2008-09.

Marshall fell victim to Syracuse’s pressure defense early. Syracuse forced 12 turnovers, including 10 steals, and scored 12 fast-break points to build a 31-18 halftime lead.

The Thundering Herd (5-2) fell to 0-17 versus teams ranked among the top five in the national polls.

Outside of the easy transition buckets, Syracuse struggled in the halfcourt set, shooting just 3 for 11 from beyond the arc. Star forward Kris Joseph finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting.

After missing their first 16 3-point attempts, the Thundering Herd drained five of their last seven to pull within eight points. Marshall outscored Syracuse 28-8 in the final seven minutes.

Dennis Tinnon led Marshall with 17 points, and Damier Pitts chipped in 10.

Marshall shot just 34 percent from the field but grabbed most of those misses, outworking a taller Syracuse frontcourt for 16 offensive rebounds. The Thundering Herd outrebounded the Orange 39-31 overall.