After losing Jesse Edwards for the season last week, it appeared that all hope was lost for SU. Its defeat to Virginia Tech following the news echoed this sentiment even more. However, the Cuse got back on track on Saturday.
The Orange were solid on both ends of the court in the first half against the Eagles. They shot 40% from three and forced 10 turnovers, taking a 36-21 into the locker room.
Coming out of the break, SU did not take its foot off the gas pedal. BC would put together a few runs of its own but could not generate enough offense to cut the deficit to single-digits the rest of the game. Syracuse never trailed in this one.
Impressive shooting and ball-hawking defense were the names of the game for the Orange on Saturday. Buddy Boeheim and Cole Swider led the way with 18 points each, with Joe Girard adding 16 of his own. All 3 players combined to hit 9 of SU’s 10 threes on the day, where the team shot 43.5%.
Not every player for Syracuse was able to have a large impact on this game. New starting center Frank Anselem scored 3 points and had 3 rebounds in only 19 minutes of play.
SU Head Coach Jim Boeheim commented on what he saw from the Nigerian on Saturday. “I just didn’t think he was rebounding, I didn’t think he was moving the way he needs to. He’s got to be consistent, he’s got to go out there and rebound for us,” he said.
With Anselem on the bench, backup Bourama Sidibe saw his highest amount of play in almost two years. Sidibe played 18 minutes and had 2 points, pulling down 4 boards as well.
The centers will have a chance to bounce back as Syracuse takes on Georgia Tech for the first time this season on Monday night. GZA Countdown to Tipoff begins at 6:30 before the game gets underway at 7 pm on the WAER airwaves.