Syracuse men’s basketball welcomes Central Connecticut State to the Dome to continue non-conference play

The Gerry McNamara era continues for Syracuse men’s basketball (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) on Thursday. The ‘Cuse’s nonconference slate rolls on when Central Connecticut State (0-1, 0-0 Northeast Conference) comes to the JMA Wireless Dome.

SU started its season with a 74-58 win over New Haven on Monday night. Despite the winning start, the game had its ups and downs. The Orange were outscored by six points in the second half. New Haven shot more than 40% from the field overall and nearly 60% in the second half. McNamara was frustrated with the mistakes on the defensive end.

“I thought we had really good intensity defensively in the first half. At one point they were 14-22 in the second half from the field. We’ve gotta be significantly better. But it’s our own doing … we’re either gonna grow up, or we’re gonna learn the hard lessons,” McNamara said.

The defense didn’t struggle the entire game, though. Syracuse held New Haven scoreless for nearly eight minutes to start the game. The Chargers missed their first 12 shots and were outrebounded 13-6 to that point. SU also recorded four blocks in those eight minutes. It had only two for the rest of the game and none in the second half.

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On offense, three players stood out for Syracuse. Transfer guard Gavin Doty posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore Kiyan Anthony led the team with 17 points off the bench. The guard went 2 of 17 from the field in exhibition play. After the game, he said, “People put too much criticism on preseason and exhibitions.”

Returner Sadiq White Jr. also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, plus a pair of blocks. The forward averaged just over six points per game last season. McNamara praised him after a strong first appearance.

“I’ve been on record of saying I thought that if he had reached his peak potential, it would elevate our ceiling of what we could become as a team. I think we saw the guy that we were looking for tonight. We need him to be a monster every facet,” McNamara said.

One player who drew his coach’s ire was freshman point guard Ryan Moesch. The former four-star recruit went 0 of 8 from the field and 0 of 4 from 3-point range. Moesch dished out five assists but didn’t grab a rebound. He had 16 rebounds across the exhibition games. McNamara was blunt about his performance.

“I think Ryan played terrible … for what I expect of him. I think he could be one of the best point guards in the country. That’s why I’m so hard on him,” McNamara said.

Syracuse has played Central Connecticut State only once, on Dec. 31, 2012. The Orange won that matchup 96-62.

Syracuse returns to action Thursday at 7 p.m. WAER’s pregame coverage begins with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 6:30 p.m. on 88.3 FM and at waer.org.