Point guard Judah Mintz drove to the basket with a defender in pursuit. The freshman put the perfect touch on his off-balanced layup, kissing the ball off the glass and into the basket. Syracuse grew its lead to 16, and Mintz scored his career-high 22nd point.
It wasn't easy for the Orange. SU led by just two at halftime against a 1-9 Monmouth squad. Syracuse tightened up its defense in the second half and Mintz racked up 17 points to secure its fourth straight win.
Monmouth was on fire from deep in the first half, knocking down six triples in eleven attempts. Guard Jack Collins accounted for four long balls and led all scorers with 16 points through the first 20 minutes.
Despite playing little defense, the Orange stayed in the game with some hot shooting of their own. Guard Joe Girard tallied 13 points with three triples, and Malik Brown chipped in with nine points off the bench.
LISTEN: Out of the break, Syracuse's Joe Girard stayed hot. @WillHenchy was on the call for the senior's fourth triple of the night.
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"[Monmouth] played well. Give them credit...they were really patient and moved the ball," head coach Jim Boeheim said. "They did a really good job and made us work."
The Hawks continued to cause havoc as the second half began. Forward Myles Foster capped off a 7-0 Monmouth run when he converted an and one. The Hawks held a 49-48 advantage with 16 minutes to play.
It was all Syracuse from there. The Orange went on a 21-4 run over the next eight minutes to put the game out of reach. Brown slammed home an alley-oop from Jesse Edwards, leading to a Monmouth timeout. The freshman scored double-digit points off the bench for the second consecutive game.
Forward Benny Williams converted two and ones, including a four-point play during the run. The sophomore scored 13 points in back-to-back games, shooting 55% from the field in that span.
Point guard Judah Mintz had arguably his best game in a Syracuse uniform. The freshman finished with a career-high 24 points, including 17 on 5-7 shooting in the second half. Mintz also finished 11-12 from the free throw line, the most points scored by any SU player at the charity stripe in a game this season.
"Our guards played really good and they were the difference in the game tonight," Boeheim said.
The Orange finished shooting over 50% from the field (.509) and three-point range (.533) for the first time since its season opener against Lehigh.
Syracuse men's basketball continues its non-conference schedule against Cornell on Saturday afternoon at 3:00. Our coverage on WAER begins at 2:30 p.m. with McClurg Team Countdown to Tip-Off.