SYRACUSE, N.Y – With snow dumping outside, and Orange having had ten days off before their 9 PM Thursday tip-off against St. Joseph’s, it took Syracuse a bit to get going. But with 37 points in the second half, the ‘Cuse pulled away and took down St. Joe’s 71 to 63 on Thursday.
This was a St. Joe’s team that had not won a game on the road, but came to upstate New York riding a four-game winning streak.
It was a slow start for the Orange, who could not get anything to fall to start the game, as the tradition
of the JMA Wireless Dome standing and cheering until the first made field goal lasted almost five minutes as Syracuse started 0-of-6 from the field. Then, with 15:26 to go in the first half, senior guard Nate Kingz hit a three to finally put everyone in their seats.
“Our energy level was just not there today,” said Orange head coach Adrian Autry.
And with the lack of energy, the Hawks took advantage of the slow start. Led by sophomore guard Deuce Jones II, St. Joe’s saw their lead balloon to seven as Coach Autry was forced to take a timeout with the Hawks leading 14-7.
Then, after some ugly basketball back and forth, it became the Tyler Betsey show. The sophomore ignited a 10-0 run for the Orange with two threes, including an and-1, which he did not convert. It felt like the ‘Cuse may have shaken off the rust, as Syracuse now led 20-15.
“I know I’m going to play, I know I am going to get in there, and I just want to contribute to the team and help in any way possible,” said Betsey, who came off the bench but looked confident shooting the ball all evening long.
But Jones and the Hawks would not go away, as they had answers for Syracuse on both ends.
At the break, Syracuse was narrowly leading St. Joe’s 34-30. Jones had 12 points and four steals for the Hawks after the first 20 minutes.
Also of note, forward William Kyle was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line at the half.
“I feel comfortable every time I go to the line, but today was definitely the best I have felt. I feel like it is going to keep improving moving forward,” said Kyle, who ended the game 6-of-9 from the free-throw line.
After the break, the Hawks continued to fly around offensively, as they started hot from inside the paint, and with just over 16 minutes to play, the game was knotted up at 38 apiece.
St. Joe’s, which came into the game as the best free-throw shooting team in the country, shooting 81.3% from the charity stripe, got to the line consistently in the second half. The Orange had committed six fouls in the first six minutes, and the Hawks were taking advantage of the opportunities from the line.
A few minutes later, now tied at 43, Syracuse was finally able to create a little separation. Kiyan Anthony drove into the lane and was fouled on the way in. He got the basket to fall and the free throw to go. Then a defensive stop, which was followed by Nate Kingz burying a three. An exhale for Coach Autry and his squad as they led it 49-43.
“There are a lot of supporters behind me, and I can feel it every time I am out on the court. Whenever I am coming out of the tunnel, I can hear a lot of people calling my name, and I am trying to play hard for them and myself,” Kingz said after now having scored 33 points in his last two games.
But still more life from St. Joe’s, as St. John’s transfer Jaiden Glover-Toscano started to show out. The sophomore guard hit a three to cut the Hawks’ deficit back down to one with the score 51-50, and the energy got tense once again inside the Dome.
However, Syracuse’s defense continued to show up, getting stops down the stretch when it needed to, and William Kyle and Tyler Betsey were where the offense turned as both were able to hit key buckets late in the second half. The one-score game eventually expanded to a double-digit lead, as with just over two minutes to go, the lead had grown back to 68-58.
Despite some missed free throws and turnovers late in the game, Syracuse prevailed and improved to 6-3 on the season and 5-0 at the JMA Wireless Dome.
“Tonight was kind of like a wake-up call, and we are definitely thinking we could have played better, but we have a quick turnaround and are excited to prove ourselves,” Betsey said.
The Orange will be back in action in 48 hours as Hofstra, coming off a victory at Pittsburgh just five days ago, comes to town with tipoff set for 4 PM.
