Syracuse escapes with a 86-82 win in the regular season opener against Le Moyne

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – With just 1:02 left in the second half, Le Moyne guard Trent Mosquera banged in a three pointer to cut the Orange lead to 81-79. After a timeout JJ Starling made a lay up to make the lead four, but on the other end of the floor Le Moyne struck again with a 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go. This time it came from forward Pauls Bagatskis. SU newcomer Jaquan Carlos made 1/2 free throws on the other end, so Le Moyne would have a possession to tie or take the lead. That’s when Chris Bell stepped up big time. He grabbed a steal with six seconds to go and swished both free throws. Clutch.

In the end Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated Le Moyne (0-1, 0-0 in Northeast Conference) 86-82.

This game was not expected to be a close one, but Syracuse would have likely lost if it wasn’t for the play of SU forward Jyáre Davis. The Delaware transfer had 22 points and 12 rebounds in his first ever game for the Orange. He was dialed all night.

“Well if he didn’t come in and do what he did we’d have lost the game. You know we still almost lost the game,” SU head coach Adrian Autry said. “I thought he was huge. You know he made tough baskets, he scored, he rebounded. Again, he was big for us. Without Jyáre Davis we don’t win this game, it’s simple.”

One of the most anticipated debuts was for five star recruit Donnie Freeman to play in his first game. The freshman had a solid day with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

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But after a slow first half from the 'Cuse, the team was down 41-36 going to the break. One of the players who struggled was junior guard Chris Bell, who had just 4 points heading to halftime. But that quickly changed and the veteran stepped up with 16 points in the second half. He got things going right from the get go after his slow start.

I thought he just started playing. I thought he got lost in the game,” Autry said. “I mean that was a big defensive play that he made at the end of the game. I think when they went to zone we found him, he got some easier shots and I thought he got himself going.”

It certainly helped that Bell got going because his good play propelled the team to a comeback. It took until midway through the second half, but the 'Cuse finally took the lead with a Jyáre David jumper. Things stayed really close the next 5 minutes with each team taking blows, but finally the Orange separated a bit and took an eight point lead with under five minutes left in the contest. It wasn’t smooth sailing to the finish line, but the team closed it out and picked up its first win of the season.

"I thought we showed some heart, showed some toughness,” Autry said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well, 4-22 from three, we missed 11 free throws, we missed shots that we normally make around the basket. We didn’t play our best game.”

It might not have been pretty, but a win is a win.

Syracuse has a pretty long break until next Tuesday when it takes on Colgate. Last season the Orange erased a 25-point lead held by the Raiders to come back and win. Catch the contest in the Dome at 7, but WAER has you covered for Countdown to Tipoff at 6:30.