Jesse Edwards helps Syracuse close out Boston College

During Syracuse men’s basketball’s three game losing streak, starting center Jesse Edwards was relatively quiet. The Dutchman averaged 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in those contests.

Edwards would have his hands full in a matchup with Boston College’s Quinten Post, one of the ACC’s premier big men. Jesse and Quinten were once teammates on the Netherlands national team and played club basketball together as well.

“To have the opportunity to play against each other, one on one, in the same position. It almost doesn’t feel real,” Edwards said after the battle.

The two big men traded blows back and forth as soon as the ball was tipped. Edwards tallied the team’s first four points for SU before Post completed a three-point play just a few minutes later.

The two centers would lead their teams in points at halftime as the Orange held a narrow 35-32 lead.

With 16:30 left to go in the second period, Post made a left handed hook shot over Edwards to give the Eagles the lead.

The next possession Edwards threw a perfect pass to Symir Torrence right over the head of Post to tie the game back up.

However, as the game went on SU began feeding their big man almost every time they came down the floor. Whether it was blowing right by his defender, or throwing a hook shot over Post, Edwards simply couldn’t miss. The senior had 14 points in the second half, shooting 6-7 from the field.

“He made some shots I haven't seen him make before… They were hard shots,” Head Coach Jim Boeheim noted.

Edwards on both ends of the floor helped propel Syracuse to a 77-68 win over Boston College.

While Edwards dominance certainly led the way for SU, the Orange had contributions from others in Saturday night’s win.

Symir Torrence stepped up big on the defense end after senior guard Joe Girard couldn’t buy a bucket. The Glen Falls native was 1-7 from the field in the first half and finished the game 4-13.

Benny Williams made his return to the SU lineup after taking a personal day during Syracuse’s 67-62 loss to Virginia last Monday. However, his contributions were limited as the sophomore only played six minutes.

Taking Williams place was shooting guard Justin Taylor who went 3-3 from beyond the arc. Taylor was the first man Jim Boeheim subbed in and had the most minutes of any player off the bench with 26. It seems as though the freshman will be the sixth man on the team going forward.

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It didn’t always look pretty for SU in this one. With 12:55 left to go in the second half, Syracuse possessed a seven-point lead. This advantage would quickly evaporate just over a minute later after Boston College’s Chaz Kelly and Makai Ashton Langford hit back-to-back triples to tie the game.

Following a few more minutes of back-and-forth play, Jim Boeheim decided to use his final timeout with eight and a half minutes to go in the game.

“We haven’t played well when we lose leads and we had to talk about it,” Coach Boeheim said postgame.

Coming out of that timeout the Orange went on a 10-0 run that gave them some cushion to secure a victory.

The ‘Cuse improved to 14-10 with a 7-6 record in the ACC. Next up for Syracuse is a trip down to Tallahassee to face Florida State (8-16, 6-7 ACC) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The Orange blew out the Seminoles 96-57 in their last matchup. WAER’s coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with McClurg Team Countdown to Tipoff.