Thursday, January 5, 2017

Canes Not Able to Stop a Resurgent Syracuse Offense

Story by Jon Cerio

Photos by Robert Schiff

SYRACUSE, N.Y. --  Boston College may have awoken a sleeping giant.  After an embarrassing loss to the Eagles on New Year's Day, the Syracuse Orange men had more energy on Wednesday night on both sides of the ball, as they put away Miami, 70-55 in the ACC home opener at the Carrier Dome.


The Orange’s 56 percent shooting in its ACC home opener helped outlast the Hurricanes’ eleven three-point baskets.  Andrew White and Tyler Lydon led the way for the Orange with 22 and 20 points, respectively.

“We kept looking to shoot it,” head coach coach Jim Boeheim said.  “Tyler  made a couple of plays inside.  Offensively, we were just a little more aware of what we were trying to do.”

Hot From the Start

It didn’t take long for the Orange offense to start rolling.  After winning the tip, Andrew White hit a jumper for the first basket of the game in just 13 seconds.  Tyus Battle made it 4-0 Syracuse with a jumper of his own on the next possession.

“I thought they were very, very sharp, right from the opening tip,” Miami head coach Jim Larranaga said.  “The first few shots that they hit were exactly the kind of shots we did not want them even shooting – just a pass directly to a shooter.”

Two Can Play That Game

Miami answered with a 10-2 run, consisting of two three-pointers and two dunks, the kind of shots Syracuse didn’t want its opponent shooting,  It was 10-6 Canes after 3:21 of play.

SU center Taurean Thompson got into foul trouble early on, picking up his second personal with 15:40 left in the first half and wasn’t much of a factor in the contest.

A Lydon slam and a Roberson layup tied the game up at 12-12 with 14:08 remaining until halftime.  The Canes weren’t giving up the lead easily, however. 

Eye of the Hurricane

In what’s been a recurring theme for Syracuse this season, an opposing player got hot from downtown.  Miami’s Dejan Visiljevic knocked down a three to give the Canes the edge.  He ended up 6-12 from beyond the arc for 18 points.

Over the course of the next seven minutes, both teams traded makes from deep.  Bruce Brown and Visiljevic connected for the Canes, while John Gillon, Lydon and White each hit one for the Orange. 

At one point, back-to-back threes from Lydon and White got the crowd on its feet.  Visiljevic quieted them down however with a three.  Syracuse led 25-24 with 6:03 to go in the first half.

Getting to the Point

From there, the Orange went on a 7-0 run.  Gillon got it started with a layup, followed by an assist to White.  Gillon and Lydon added three free throws as well during the run.  Syracuse was up 32-24 with 1:32 remaining until halftime.  The Orange went into the locker room still up eight, 34-26.

“I think everybody just had energy,” Andrew White said.  “I know our guards and myself watched some extra tape with Coach G-Mac (Gerry McNamara) and that helped us a little bit more because we were locked in better to personnel, so I know I will ask him for that again.”

Gillon at the point started for Syracuse and didn’t look back.  He was 3-7 from the field and scored eight points, but also added eleven assists and two steals in 39 minutes of action.  Frank Howard ended the night with one minute on the scorecard.

“We just played to get the win,” Tyus Battle said.  “We didn’t worry about our individual stats or anything like that. We flew around on defense, closed on shooters and crashed the boards.”

Second Strong Start

The two Tylers got things going for SU in the second half, first with a Lydon slam, and then a Roberson layup, pushing the lead to 38-28.

Batten Down the Hatches

Kamari Murphy, Vasiljevic, and Brown led the Hurricanes back from the deficit, with a combination of dunks, threes and inside looks.  Miami went on a 14-5 run to cut the Orange lead to 43-42, with 13:03 to play.

Though the Canes pushed back hard, that was the closest they got for the remainder of the contest.  Syracuse responded with a 9-0 run of its own, including back-to-back threes from White to pump up the crowd.  The lead was back to ten at 52-42.

“Our defense was better tonight,” Boeheim said.  “We gave up some open threes, but we did a better job.”

'Lydon' it Up

Vasiljevic and Dewan Huell tried to answer back, but Lydon took the game over for Syracuse.  He scored nine-straight Orange points over the next 2:52, including a Dome-rocking trey and slam on back-to-back drives.  SU was up 61-47 with 7:10 remaining.

“We come to practice every day to work and try to get better,” Lydon said.  “With that being said, I think we were able to accomplish that and it showed today. We just have to keep working hard and move forward.”


Something to Cheer About

The crowd was as energetic as it’s been all year.  There were several instances when the fans got up and cheered their team loudly.  It wasn’t only when the Orange players scored, but when they made hustle plays and key stops as well.

“The crowd was great,” Boeheim added.  “The crowd has been good all year, but I thought they were really good tonight.”

Miami only scored eight more points the rest of the way, with six coming from Ja’Quan Newton.  Syracuse’s 7-0 run from the 4:40 mark put the game away, giving it a 68-51 lead after a Gillon jumper with 2:01 to play.

  

New Year's Resolution

After many were assuming the worst for Syracuse after losing to Boston College on New Year’s Day, it got a much needed win against a tough opponent. 


“Teams have a certain edge when they’re trying to fight back from a loss, and especially, I think, on the road and the way they lost with Boston College making 16 three’s,” Larranaga said.  “I think it made the zone a little bit more active and we didn’t respond very well.”

“We’ve got a long way to go and we have a lot of work to do,” Boeheim said.  “This was a very good first step, but it was just one step.”

Pitt Stop

Syracuse moves to 9-6 on the year, and 1-1 in ACC play.  Miami falls to 11-3, and 1-1 in the conference.  The Hurricanes have a full week to prepare for Notre Dame (13-2, 2-0) at home next Thursday. The No. 23 Irish knocked off No. 9 Louisville on Wednesday night.

Syracuse now looks to build upon Wednesday night's win with another home game against a tough Pittsburgh squad on Saturday.The Panthers (12-3, 1-1 ACC) took down No. 11 Virginia 88-76 in overtime at Pitt Wednesday night.

No comments:

Post a Comment