If you, like myself, tuned into the game tonight, I feel for you. What we saw for the first 20 minutes of the game between Syracuse and St. Bonaventure was about as frustrating and demoralizing a half as I’ve ever watched in my 28 years as a fan of Syracuse basketball.
In the first half, the Bonnies manhandled the ‘Cuse, and no that’s not an exaggeration. A team whose tallest player stands at 6’7″, out-rebounded Syracuse 22-15 in the first half. A team that only plays eight players, because they only have eight players on their roster, took it to the Orange and got whatever they wanted.
Syracuse trailed 32-27 at the half, but that score does not tell the story. They were sloppy with the ball, turning it over nine times. They couldn’t make a layup to save their lives, missing at least five that I counted. They also couldn’t beat the Bonnies off the dribble, and often settled for outside shots or else just forced bad passes and then turned it over. There wasn’t much positive going into the half.
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I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the Orange locker room at the intermission. I can only imagine how hard Boeheim must have lit into them after that performance. Honestly, they deserved it. They played like a D-2 school, not a perennial top-25 team. I sincerely hope they got that out of their systems, because if they play like that at any point in the ACC, they will get blown out so badly they won’t even have a chance to come back.
Thankfully for Syracuse, there was a second half to this game. After a rough start that saw the Bonnies make six of their first eight three pointers, Syracuse slowly chipped away at the lead. This was thanks mostly to Michael Gbinije and Malachi Richardson, who both put on offensive clinics.
Malachi had a particularly sweet crossover drive to the hoop, then hit a ridiculous floater in the lane and was fouled. It was a thing of beauty.
Gbinije just did what he does. He hit from way outside, he drove to the rim, and he got a couple putbacks. All of a sudden, a six point halftime lead turned into a 13 point coast-to-the-finish-line victory. Syracuse ended up winning the game 79-66.
I also have to give credit to Tyler Lydon and Trevor Cooney, who both had outstanding second halves as well. Lydon finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Cooney scored 18 points and had six steals. Two of those steals were huge plays where Syracuse scored, and Cooney somehow snuck back in and stole the pass in the back court. It was extremely impressive, and showed off the incredible guile that Cooney possesses. Those two steals ended up being a 9-point swing when you account for the baskets that preceded them.
The game ball has to go to Gbinije though, who finished the game with 23 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. His entire repertoire was on display and he did not dissapoint. He made some way-beyond-NBA-range 3’s, he drove to the hoop with authority, and he passed the ball to open teammates. It was a complete game for him and just proves how much he has developed since last year.
The Syracuse basketball team’s next game is on Saturday against Elon in the Carrier Dome. That game will be at 12:30 pm. Elon, is currently 1-1 on the season with a win over Charlotte and a loss to Michigan. Check back here throughout the week for extended coverage of that game.