Syracuse basketball ends calendar year on high note with 79-65 win over Boston College

Syracuse men’s basketball surged to a 79-65 home victory over Boston College on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 31 in the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY.

The Orange entered the battle carrying the weight of a home loss to Pitt 84-82 on Tuesday, Dec. 20 while the Eagles entered following a pair of wins.

A defining feature for the 'Cuse came from forward Benny Williams who nabbed his second double-double of the season (and career). The sophomore scored 16 points and grabbed a game-leading 11 rebounds, which is also a career-high.

“Benny’s very capable of being a double-double guy and he hasn’t shown that in the games," head coach Jim Boeheim sad. "He’s had a couple games, but he hasn’t shown that — but he’s our best forward, and he’s gonna get every opportunity to do what he can do.”

Boeheim continued about the sophomore, “He’s a freshman to me — last year was a non-factor.”

Williams said that he has put in the work, especially over the past week.

“I put in a lot of work with Coach Red [Adrian Autry] everyday before practice when we came back from break, so I think that’s just a tribute to my work and my effort just trying to turn things around and knowing that I can do these things," the sophomore said. "Just gotta do them in the game, not just in practice.”

Practice proved to be a very different experience as opposed to games for the Orange; Coach Boeheim said that guard Quadir Copeland emerged as the recent star in practices, but disappointed in Saturday’s win.

“Quadir has been unbelievable in practice," Boeheim said. "He’s been our best player in practice in the last four or five practices, and today he couldn’t do anything.”

Copeland mustered just one point in the game contrasting his previous 10 point showing in the loss to Pitt on Tuesday, Dec. 20.

An extra positive for Syracuse came on defense because Williams and center Mounir Hima combined for seven blocks. The single game high for blocks by the 'Cuse is nine.

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Center Jesse Edwards also provided help in the post. The senior wrangled eight rebounds, scoring 10 points in the victory. The Netherlands-native has now recorded 12 games with at least 10 points.

Guard Judah Mintz showed a rather shaky performance. Despite dropping 18 points (second in scoring in the game to teammate guard Joe Girard III), the freshman hit just eight of 15 shots from the field.

Mintz sits at just eighth on the Orange in shooting percentage, hitting just 43.3% of his shots. Despite the inefficiency from the field, the Maryland-native boasts the second-most points per game on the Syracuse roster with 15.8, closely behind the team leader Girard with 15.9.

Next, S.U. sets for a road battle at Louisville on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. in the KCF Yum! Center in Louisville, KY. The Cardinals wallow at the bottom of the ACC with a 2-12 record, riding a three-game losing skid.