Story and photos by Lizzy Gomez
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Four Syracuse players scored in double-digits as the Orange visited Boston College on Wednesday night.
And not one had the name Christmas on the back of his jersey.
Behind a 21-point performance by Michael Gbinije and combined 26-point contribution from Kaleb Joseph and B.J. Johnson, the Orange left Conte Forum with a 70-56 win over Boston College.
The win comes despite a seven-point night for leading scorer Rakeem Christmas, who averages 18 points per game.
SU Head Coach Jim Boeheim said the win stands out in a season where the Orange has struggled to bring wins back to Syracuse, coming into Wednesday’s game with a 2-5 road record.
“This is really the best we’ve played on the road this year,” Boeheim said.
Joseph and Johnson Step Up
Joseph ended the night with 14 points, tying his season-high while going 7-of-7 from the field.
That doubles his average points per game this season.
The freshman started out slowly, scoring just two points in the first half before going 6-for-6 in the final 20 minutes of play.
Johnson gave Orange fans in the Conte Forum a reason to stand and cheer, hitting four 3-point shots, the most of his career.
Johnson accounted for all 12 bench points for SU, while the Eagles bench scored 4 points, total.
Gbinije and Cooney Contribute, Christmas Distracts Eagles
Trevor Cooney and Gbinije added to the Syracuse 3-point percentage, combining for five more shots from beyond the arc.
The Orange ended the night shooting 39 percent from long-range, going 9-of-23.
While Gbinije took the title of the night’s leading scorer with 21 points , Cooney went 4-of-11 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line for 15 points.
And while his teammates put up double-digit points, Christmas had to work against a double-team all evening for his 7 points and 10 rebounds.
Boeheim said the extra attention on Christmas gave other SU players a chance to score on open shots, especially later in the game.
“I thought [Joseph] and [Gbinije] were really good in the second half,” Boeheim said. “[Christmas] was pretty much just a decoy, the way they were playing him.”
Cooney said he and the rest of his teammates know the double-team on Christmas means they have to come forward and find more buckets.
If they’re going to do that, we’ve just got to find open spots and make shots,” Cooney said. “[Johnson] did a great job of that today.”
But while the Christmas helped to get his teammates scoring opportunities, the senior also turned the ball over to the Eagles five times, giving Boston College opportunities to keep the game close.
Eagles Hover Until Late
After the Orange began the game with a 5-0 lead in the first minute, Boston College kept much of the first half competitive, never trailing by more than eight points in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Eagles cut the lead down to two points with 54 seconds remaining in the half after a quick 8-3 run.
Gbinije attempted to give the Orange a little more cushion before halftime, trying and missing a three-pointer with nine seconds on the clock before the break.
But Cooney grabbed the offensive rebound and with 5 seconds on the clock, a Christmas layup put the Orange over the Eagles, 28-24, as both teams went to the locker rooms.
After trading baskets with Boston College for the early part of the second half, the Orange began to break away after a three-pointer by Johnson put Syracuse up by seven at the 11:27 mark.
SU led as much as 17 points in the second half, ahead of the Eagles by a score of 67-50 at the 3:36 mark, before ultimately taking the 70-56 win.
The win bumps the Orange to 16-8 overall and 7-4 in the ACC.
The victory also marks the 44th winning season in a row for the SU men’s basketball team.
Syracuse and Duke meet on Valentine’s Day
Boeheim and the Orange head back to Syracuse to host Coach K and the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils at home on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The game comes after last season’s first matchup between the two teams brought 35,446 spectators to the Dome, the largest attendance for a regular-season college basketball game on a campus.
While Syracuse won the game in overtime by a final score of 91-89, this year, the Orange will be looking to pull a major upset.
Cooney said he’s looking forward to the matchup after the excitement from last season.
“That’s great college basketball,” Cooney said. “That’s how it’s supposed to be, especially with two programs like Duke and Syracuse, so I’m just hoping for games like that again.”
Duke comes into the game with a 20-3 record overall, 8-3 in conference play.
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