As cohesive unit, Syracuse basketball put it all together in stellar Tigers win

The Syracuse basketball roster played one heck of an all-around game in racing away from Clemson in the second half on Tuesday night in Central New York.

After suffering a heart-breaking five-point loss to surging Florida State on the Hill this past weekend, the ‘Cuse did a lot of positive things in the final 20 minutes versus the Tigers, as Syracuse basketball prevailed 91-78 to end its three-contest home-stand with a 2-1 mark.

The Orange (9-9, 3-4) shot lights out from the field as a whole and from beyond the arc. Most importantly, the ‘Cuse boasted a 12-point edge at the charity stripe, and that was the difference-maker in conquering Clemson (10-8, 2-5).

Leading the charge were senior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim and junior point guard Joe Girard III, who compiled 25 points and 23 points, respectively. But make no mistake, this was a team-inspired effort.

Syracuse basketball looked really, really good in handling Clemson.

Besides the excellent performances of the Orange’s starting guards, graduate student forward Jimmy Boeheim and junior center Jesse Edwards each recorded a double-double, and Edwards also registered four blocks.

My only tiny gripe here is that Edwards, once again, managed to foul out. He really has to remain laser-focused on not picking up silly fouls. Regardless, though, Edwards’ imposing presence on both ends of the floor was undeniably felt.

In somewhat of a twist for Syracuse basketball, the ‘Cuse dominated the Tigers on the glass, and I have to say that the ‘Cuse has fared quite well in recent Atlantic Coast Conference clashes on the boards.

And let’s talk about the bench! Head coach Jim Boeheim, who has taken a ton of criticism from fans on social media lately for his short rotation, played nine Orange guys in this league encounter. Nine!!

Per ESPN statistics, the four ‘Cuse reserves possessed a combined 24 minutes of run, which isn’t abundantly large. However, each reserve contributed one way or another.

Freshman forward Benny Williams had a ridiculous block. Graduate student center Bourama Sidibe and sophomore center Frank Anselem both scored a basket. And junior guard Symir Torrence logged 14 minutes, chipping in four points and two assists.

A couple of positives for the Orange really stood out to me. One, the team held a good perimeter-shooting Clemson group to just 29.6 percent from deep.

Secondly, Syracuse basketball has struggled quite a bunch during the second halves of several close setbacks, but the ‘Cuse outscored the Tigers 51-39 in the second half. That’s big.

Third, the Orange took care of the ball with relative precision, only committing 10 turnovers.

And fourth, Syracuse basketball didn’t settle for contested 3-pointers. The ‘Cuse connected on an impressive 53.4 percent from the field and a solid 40.9 percent from 3-point land.

I’m hoping this kind of strong outcome will provide the Orange with momentum as Syracuse basketball prepares to travel to daunting ACC foe Duke this coming Saturday afternoon.