Men's Basketball: Syracuse Starts Season with Exhibition Win Over IUP

Story and photos by Jake Lapin


SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Hardwood is back at the Carrier Dome, as Syracuse men's basketball began its 2016-17 campaign with an exhibition win over Indiana University (Pa.) Tuesday night.

SU overcame an unexpected 15-point deficit in the first half to the Division-II Crimson Hawks before closing the half on a 33-13 run, and rolling to a 83-65 victory.

"We didn't get off to a good start for a few reasons," Coach Jim Boeheim said after the game. "I thought we battled back really well."


Early Struggles

After scoring the first basket of the game, Syracuse struggled early on as IUP jumped out to a 20-5 lead in the first six minutes or so of action.

Interestingly, a Boeheim-coached team started the game in a man-to-man defense, instead of the 2-3 zone that Syracuse is known for playing.

"It's something we work on every day," Boeheim said about the man-to-man defense. "We could theoretically use it in some situations. We'll see."

The Hawks started the game 5-of-11 from deep against the man defense, which sparked the early lead, before missing their next 10 attempts as the Orange clawed back.

Syracuse had three early turnovers before the first 16-under timeout which contributed to the deficit as well.


Serious Size

Syracuse trotted out a starting lineup of Frank Howard and Andrew White III in the backcourt, with Tyler Lydon, Tyler Roberson and DaJuan Coleman up front.

Coleman and Lydon are each 6-9, Roberson is 6-8, White is 6-7 and Howard is 6-5.

The Orange's height will be helpful when Boeheim installs his 2-3 zone.

Boeheim also has freshman Taurean Thompson, 6-10, and transfer Paschal Chukwu, 7-2, at his disposal off the bench.


Crowded Backcourt

Returning starters Roberson and Coleman are expected to start this season, as is Lydon, who received second-team All-ACC honors this preseason.

The starting guards are still to be determined.

Howard got the nod to start the game on Tuesday, but grad transfer John Gillon got some run-time as well, as each played 20 minutes.

Howard finished with 10 points, 2 assists and 3 turnovers, including one that aggravated Boeheim and instigated a timeout.

Gillon added 6 points himself, including a three-pointer, as well as 9 assists and 2 turnovers.

"I think John did a good job in the first half," Boeheim said. "I think Frank did a good job for the most part, just a couple bad turnovers."

While Gillon has more NCAA experience after playing his freshman year at Arkansas-Little Rock and the past two seasons at Colorado State, Boeheim noted that Howard has more experience playing in the Syracuse system.


Notes

Down 20-8 with just over 12 minutes to go in the first half, Syracuse switched off the man-to-man defense into a zone, but also set up a full-court press. The press created six turnovers and a bunch of fast break opportunities that fueled a 33-13 run to end the half.

Boeheim was clearly getting a feel for his unit tonight, as he tried out 18 different lineup combinations in the matchup. Ten different players played at least nine minutes, including three freshmen.

Tyus Battle, a freshman, made his SU debut in style, hitting four 3s in five attempts. He and White combined for 6-of-12 from beyond the arc, while the rest of the team finished just 1-of-8.

The IUP Crimson Hawks finished 21-8 last season en route to a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference division title. Coach Joe Lombardi, in his 11th season, has seven returning players including his son, Dante, who scored 14 points against the Orange. The Hawks head to Villanova on Nov. 5 for another Division-I exhibition matchup.

Looking Ahead

One down, one to go for Syracuse in terms of exhibitions.

The Orange men will take on LeMoyne next Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. as they wrap up the preseason schedule at the Carrier Dome.

The regular season begins a few days later on Friday Nov. 11 at 7 pm, as Syracuse will take on Colgate at home.

Both of those games will be aired on ACCN Extra.