The Syracuse men's basketball team opened its 2013-14 exhibition slate in the Carrier Dome with a 79-41 victory against Division II Holy Family on Friday, Nov. 1.
"Overall, I think it was a good night," said head coach Jim Boeheim. "We learned some things and hopefully we can work on it for a couple days and come back Tuesday and see what we can do."
All 11 players who entered the game for the Orange found the bottom of the net and played at least 14 minutes. Senior forward C.J. Fair asserted himself in the second half, finishing with a game-high 13 points and five assists to go along with nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Jerami Grant came off the bench to share game-high honors with 13 points.
Freshman guards Tyler Ennis and Ron Patterson also reached double-figures with 11 points apiece in their Carrier Dome debuts. Posting a game-best 10 rebounds was senior center Baye Moussa Keita with sophomore center DaJuan Coleman right behind him at nine boards.
SU's defense was just as strong as its offense throughout the contest. Syracuse held the Tigers to just 16-of-62 (.258) from the floor and 3-of-25 (.120) from beyond the arc. The Orange shot 29-of 63 overall (.460), including 12-of-22 (.429) from long range. Patterson and redshirt sophomore guard Trevor Cooney split six threes between them.
Listen to highlights of the game here: http://waersports.podbean.com
SU opened the game with the first 10 points thanks to a pair of three pointers from Cooney in the opening 70 seconds. With a 12-2 lead, Grant recorded the next seven points for the home team to put the Orange up 19-4 with 11:50 remaining in the half.
After Holy Family pulled to within 21-9, Syracuse enjoyed another large run, outscoring the Tigers 17-4 over the rest of the half for a 38-13 advantage. During the final run, Ennis scored eight points.
Syracuse's next game is Tuesday vs. Ryerson at 7 PM. The exhibition game from the Carrier Dome can be heard here on WAER 88.3 FM in Syracuse starting at tip time.