Story by Jon Cerio
Photos by Rob Schiff
All The Fixings
Syracuse carved through the Bulldogs' defense, hitting 54
percent of its field goals, including 54 percent from beyond the arc.
Six Orange players were in double figures on the
night, as Syracuse won its third matchup in the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday
Invitational.
The Bulldogs' Edward Stephens got the first basket of the
game from deep, giving South Carolina State its first and only lead of the
game.
From there, the Orange went on a
15-0 tear to open things up. The run
included threes from Tyler Lydon, Andrew White III and Franklin Howard.
Syracuse was up 15-3 with 14:02 left in the half.
“I think after the first few minutes we were able to find
our rhythm, and make some stops,” White said.
The Bulldogs answered back with Tashombe Riley and James Richardson
layups, followed by a jumper from Eric Eaves.
South Carolina State cut the lead to 15-9, with 10:35 left in the
first half.
Stuffing the Stats
John Gillon and Dajuan Coleman combined for the
Orange’s next 13 points. After a Tyus
Battle three-pointer, and a Taurean Thompson slam, Syracuse was up by 17
points, 33-16, with 4:50 left in the half.
Ozante Fields helped keep the Bulldogs competitive, with a
couple of fast break layups. He wound up as SC State's leading scorer with eleven points and six rebounds.
South
Carolina State was very aggressive from the early stages of the contest, with
several fast break opportunities. At one
point, the Bulldogs had a 16-8 point edge in that department over Syracuse.
Despite that, the Orange held onto a 46-31 advantage at the
half.
Second Helping of Squash
Syracuse opened up the second half with a three-ball from White. He led six Orange in
double figures with 15 points on the night.
After Eaves answered with a dunk for the Bulldogs first
points of the half, Richardson and Greg Mortimer provided sporadic
offense for South Carolina State during a 36-9 run for the Orange over the next
11:41.
“I think we played really well offensively,” Lydon said. "Defensively, we were able to
execute in the second half and we were able to play our game.”
Gravy Train
The Orange spread the wealth, getting multiple players
involved in the onslaught. Howard
led the distribution with eleven assists. Gillon chipped in another four.
In all, Syracuse had 25 assists.
Though the Bulldogs continued to attack the rim, they
weren’t nearly as efficient as they needed to be. By the end of the game, Syracuse matched
South Carolina State’s fast break points with 18.
“We have a lot of depth, so we can run,” White said. “We use that to our advantage.”
The Orange used its speed and size to outplay the Bulldogs
in every facet of the game. The two
Tylers led the charge on the boards, helping SU outrebound its opponent by
22.
The Orange doubled the Bulldog field
goal percentage, 54 to 27 percent. Syracuse
was lights out from downtown, hitting 13-24 threes on the night, including 4-5
from Lydon.
Seventeen Orange players got into the game, including all eight walk-ons and a three-pointer by Ray Featherston with 14 seconds left put SU over the 100-point mark for the first time since a game against Monmouth on Dec. 8, 2012.
Seventeen Orange players got into the game, including all eight walk-ons and a three-pointer by Ray Featherston with 14 seconds left put SU over the 100-point mark for the first time since a game against Monmouth on Dec. 8, 2012.
Setting the Table
Syracuse now looks to a date with a tough South Carolina team in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday at 2:30. The 4-0 Gamecocks host 4-0 Michigan tonight in Columbia.
"Well, I think we've had the opportunity to give everybody a really good feel for what college basketball is about," Boeheim said.
"Trying to get this team to fit together, the guys that we have, and I think we have, and I think that we have accomplished that."
"Trying to get this team to fit together, the guys that we have, and I think we have, and I think that we have accomplished that."
No comments:
Post a Comment