Syracuse basketball got a commendable challenge from Central New York neighbor Cornell, but the Orange managed to pull away near the end.
The annual Boeheim-family event certainly didn’t disappoint, as the Syracuse basketball squad and sophomore guard Buddy Boeheim used a second-half run to defeat Cornell and his older brother, junior forward Jimmy Boeheim, who notched an affair-high 25 points.
Buddy Boeheim, meanwhile, struggled from the field, but he did collect 16 points, and that’s not too shabby, either. Redshirt junior forward Elijah Hughes guided the Orange with 22 points and seven assists, and the ‘Cuse (3-1, 0-1) secured a 72-53 success against the Big Red (1-4) on Wednesday night inside the Carrier Dome.
I have the utmost admiration for Cornell and the strategy that it executed in this fun, yet emotionally charged encounter. The Big Red exercised patience on offense, much like fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Virginia does, relying on passing and spacing to wind down the shot clock and limit the number of possessions that Syracuse, in turn, could get on offense.
For the majority of this duel, Cornell’s plan worked, with the Orange unable to produce a lot of separation. Clinging to a 44-41 advantage after intermission, head coach Jim Boeheim subbed in freshman forward Quincy Guerrier, who provided a fabulous spark. Guerrier attacked the rim with aggression, got to the charity stripe, connected on a corner 3-pointer, and the ‘Cuse finally broke open this battle before 21,123 nervous fans.
Ultimately, Syracuse compiled a solid statistical performance, as the Orange hit on 47.2 percent from the field as a whole and 37.0 percent from beyond the arc. Free-throw shooting remains a weakness, as the ‘Cuse went for 66.7 percent, but Syracuse shared the ball well on offense with 18 dimes, crushed the Big Red on the glass, controlled its careless miscues, and forced Cornell into 22 percent from long range.
For me, though, the best narrative of the Orange conquering Cornell for the 40th-consecutive occasion is the Boeheim sons.
Jimmy and Buddy combined for 41 points, which is tremendous, and Jimmy almost led his team to a monumental upset. Jim Boeheim and his wife, Juli, are undoubtedly proud, even if this match-up is difficult to endure. I’m a father myself, and I can only imagine how Jim and Juli feel watching their sons go at it. The entire Boeheim family, by my estimation, handled this meeting with class, humility, and respect.
"In his remarks after the ‘Cuse triumphed, Jim Boeheim said that Jimmy “played really well tonight. He’s gotten better every year he’s been there, and I thought that he had really good control of the game tonight on the offensive end. He did a great job.”I particularly enjoyed these comments from Buddy Boeheim about his older brother. “Just being with Jimmy is really special. I grew up looking up to him, he gave me that competitive edge and never let me beat him in whatever we did. I always wanted to be better than him and tried to be at the level he was at. He helped me get here, so just being out there and sharing that experience with him was great.”"
Like I noted earlier, all class from the Boeheim family.