Syracuse Finishes Strong In Last Exhibition Match

By Edward McFarland
Photo by Tyriq Butler

Syracuse, N.Y. - The Florida Southern Moccasins traveled up north to face the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team in the Orange's second and final exhibition game Sunday at the Carrier Dome. The Moccasins won the 2015 NCAA Division II championship last year, but that was soon forgotten as the Orange coasted to a 96-54 victory.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim said he was happy with the easy wins over Florida Southern and LeMoyne last Monday.

“The teams we’ve played have moved the ball, and did a lot of good things that we will see and will need to practice," Boeheim said. "I thought we moved the ball well. We got a lot of good shots and good opportunities, especially early in the game. We made a lot of shots early. It was good.”
 

DEFENSIVE INTENSITY

Syracuse started the game with a 30-5 run, but it was the defense that set the tone.

Florida Southern was forced into 16 turnovers in the first half, and when the half ended Syracuse was up 31 points.

“Overall our defense for the first 13 to 14 minutes was really good,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “We were active and forced a lot of turnovers. We really didn't give them any good looks.”

When the Moccasins weren’t turning the ball over, their offense still suffered as they forced up three-pointers in the effort to avoid a shot clock violation. The Moccasins finished the game 9-for-39 from three.

Their leading scorer was Senior guard Dominique Williams who scored 23 points.
 

THE STARTERS

Syracuse’s stingy defense led to six players scoring in double digits. 

Freshmen forward Malachi Richardson led the team in scoring with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three steals.

“Every one on our team can score, everyone can rebound and pass,” Richardson said. “It helps out a lot. It spaces the floor out really well for us and gets us open shots.”

Trevor Cooney benefited  greatly from the open shots Richardson talked about after the game. 

In the second half Cooney made his presence felt scoring 10 of his 15 points. His bread and butter came from screens set near the baseline that set him up for open three-pointers and drives to the basket.

“I definitely want to continue to move on offense and come off as many screens as possible,” Cooney said. “If the play isn’t there we can swing to the other side and get another screen.”

Michael Gbinije and Tyler Roberson were the other the starters who scored in double-figures. Gbinijie had a quiet 14 points, and Roberson made shots inside the paint and around the perimeter to give himself ten.
 

THE BENCH 

The bench scored 22 points in the first half. Half of those points were because of Kaleb Joseph who provided an early spark for Syracuse as he went 3 for 3 from downtown in the first half. 

“I worked real hard this summer” Joseph said.” I proved it to myself that I belong and I feel very confident when out there on the court.

Last year Joseph was the starter, but Gbinije has replaced him this year. However, Joseph says he is not bothered by it he just wants to be consistent and provide energy.

Joseph finished with 13 points, and freshmanTyler Lydon gave some help off the bench with 12 points.

FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS

Reflecting on their two exhibition wins, defense is the area the Orange want to improve on the most.

“We just have to continue to focus on defense and stopping teams,“ Cooney said. “Defense is going to make offense a lot easier for us. If were able to be a good 2-3 team were going to be in every game we play.” 

The Orange officially starts the season this Friday, November 13 in the Carrier Dome against Lehigh University at 7p.m.