Syracuse basketball withstood a big-time fight from Central New York neighbor Cornell out of the Ivy League on Tuesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome, and the Orange was able to notch an 11-point victory in this non-conference encounter.
The ‘Cuse held double-digit leads over the Big Red in both the first and second halves, but Cornell, despite struggling with its 3-point shooting, didn’t wither away.
However, the trio of sophomore point guard Judah Mintz, sophomore forward Chris Bell and sophomore wing Justin Taylor proved just enough for the Orange to collect an 81-70 triumph against Cornell.
With this outcome, the ‘Cuse improved to 6-3 overall, while the Big Red fell to 7-2 so far in the 2023-24 season.
My top observations as Syracuse basketball squeaked out a win versus Cornell.
•Mintz tallied a team-high 28 points. In an immensely encouraging sign, he was 5-of-7 from 3-point land.
•Bell was 5-of-10 from downtown. He finished with 19 points and four blocks. When Bell gets going from 3-point land, he’s lethal.
•Taylor was solid, producing 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He made three shots from long range.
•Sophomore big man Maliq Brown didn’t score, but he was a beast on the glass, corralling 12 rebounds, including seven offensive boards.
•Junior forward Benny Williams didn’t play at all.
•Mintz was picking apart Cornell in the second half as the Orange built up a double-digit advantage after leading by only three points at halftime. However, with about 12 minutes to go in the game, he picked up his fourth foul. I thought that the rest of the ‘Cuse roster did a good job of maintaining the squad’s lead while Mintz was on the bench.
•As a unit, Syracuse basketball shot 42.6 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from beyond the arc and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line. Conversely, Cornell hit on 40.0 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from deep and 52.9 percent from the charity stripe.
•The Orange won the battle on the boards, 45-42.
•The Big Red had 18 assists, to 16 dimes for the ‘Cuse. Cornell committed 15 turnovers, whereas the Orange had 12 miscues.
•The Big Red led Syracuse basketball 25-8 in bench points, 34-30 in paint points and 13-8 in second-chance points.
•The ‘Cuse had a 16-14 edge in fast-break points, 19-13 in points off of turnovers, 9-7 steals and 9-1 in blocks.
•With this victory, Syracuse basketball improves to 97-31 versus Cornell and has beaten the Big Red 43 times in a row. In this young 2023-24 campaign, the Orange is 5-0 at the Dome, while the ‘Cuse is 1-2 on neutral courts and 0-1 on the road, losing to Virginia last Saturday.
•Next up, Syracuse basketball will travel to Washington, D.C., to play long-time rival and Big East Conference school Georgetown. The tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 am inside the Capital One Arena on Saturday, Dec. 9, with television coverage on Fox.