Two young Syracuse basketball players appear ready for the season in Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III. Here are all the details and highlights vs Carleton.
Two guys are clearly ready for the 2019-20 campaign in Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III. Just call them the Syracuse Splash Brothers.
Here are all the highlights from the exhibition finale vs Carleton and why this team is ready for the bright lights after a 77 to 58 win over the Ravens.
First half
Syracuse started with the same starting five they’ve been rolling with since the offseason:
Despite that being the starting lineup, a few early mistakes forced some early changes in this game. Jalen and Bourama were yanked early because of some early mistakes forcing Jesse Edwards and Brycen Goodine into the lineup.
Also, it’s important to note, this isn’t your typical cupcake game. Carleton is a National Championship team from Canada littered with veteran players.
6 of their 16 players are in either year four or five and have seen a lot of basketball. While on the other side of the coin Syracuse doesn’t have a senior on the roster this year.
That veteran savvy helped the Ravens to a quick 12-6 lead just a few minutes into the contest.
On top of the savvy, Carleton pressed the Orange in full-court which really put a wrench into the Syracuse offense. Even when Syracuse had open looks they struggled to find the bottom of the basket through the first 10 minutes of the first half.
Although something that helped loosen up the Ravens defense was an evolved game from Elijah Hughes. He showed a nice dribble and drive that he didn’t display last season.
Also, another thing Hughes has displayed early this season during exhibition play is his passing. He had a beautiful alley-oop to Jesse Edwards that got the crowd on its feet.
Orange finish the half on an 11-2 run, go into the locker room with a 10-point lead, 41-31. pic.twitter.com/hG1iF9vVk1
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) October 30, 2019
First half takeaways:
- Great play to end the half by Jalen Carey. He hits a three-pointer, gets back on defense gets a block and scores in transition on the fast break with the layup. Carey still is a little too lackadaisical with the ball which will get him in trouble, but he made some nice plays in the first half.
- After being quiet from deep in the exhibition opener vs Daemen, Buddy Boeheim came alive in this one. Scored 12 points in the opening half (leading all scorers) and just made it rain from downtown.
- Joe Girard III was cooking! He came off the bench converted a 4-point play, also hit another 3 pointer. Instant offense, cold turkey off the bench. It’s going to be very hard for Jim Boeheim to keep him off the court.
Second half
While Carleton won’t be mistaken for the Virginia Cavaliers, they’re a talented team that pushed the Orange in the opening half. Syracuse had to scratch and claw to get a lead and that’s good to put this team through situational basketball so they can be ready for anything and everything.
Someone who has received a ton of hype, but hasn’t shown all his tools yet is Quincy Guerrier. Canadian players by virtue are under-recruited, so they don’t receive the national attention they probably deserve.
Quincy has a sculpted adult body that can be labeled a weapon of mass destruction. He should be able to pound it inside and showed a little bit of that in this Carleton game.
Things started to get a tad tight late, but that’s when the Orange’s best player started making plays.
A 7-0 surge put Syracuse up 15 and speaking of 15 that’s how many points Elijah Hughes had to go along with nine boards with 5:53 left in the contest, (65-50 score).
That would be enough to finish them off and Syracuse would end their preseason exhibition play with an undefeated 2-0 record after posting a 4-0 record during their Italy trip in August.
Syracuse won’t go undefeated in the regular season, but there were a lot of good things to take away from all the action this summer/fall.
Final takeaways:
- This was the perfect tune-up game for the Orange before things count in the regular season. Carleton has the experience, has won National Championships in Canada, and pushed the Orange more than Daemen.
- Buddy and JG3 are filthy from deep and the Syracuse Splash Brothers nickname will stick.
- 10 players finished in the scoring column on Tuesday night.
Up next for the Orange is where it really counts. Syracuse will open up the 2019-20 regular season vs the defending National Champion Virginia Cavaliers on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m.