The Syracuse Orange are back in the win column, but the margin of victory and how the game played out was certainly not what most fans expected.
Syracuse led the contest for all but 19 seconds, yet the team’s lead never crossed the 20-point mark in its 14-point home win over Mercyhurst.
Overall, it was a game with a mix of ups and downs. Here are four key takeaways from the matchup:
Couldn’t quite put the Lakers away
The game played out with “two steps forward, one step back” flow.
Syracuse would convert
an and-one, then give up an offensive rebound and a score the next possession. The Orange would get two straight baskets, but the Lakers would response with at least one. Particularly in the second half, there were multiple opportunities to get out to a larger lead, but ‘Cuse never could build enough consistent momentum to do so.
‘Cuse only led 17-14 after eight minutes of action before it finally got going, thanks to an 11-0 run that would put its lead suddenly up to 14 (28-14). Another smaller scoring burst at the end of the first half would give Syracuse a 16-point lead heading into the locker room.
But, as its offense started to find some better groove, its defensive energy slipped and Mercyhurst was matching the Orange’s scoring. The Lakers shot 10/31 (32%) in the first half and 15/31 (48%) in the second half. The Orange shot 15% better in the second half compared to the first, but Mercyhurst would outscore the Orange by two (39-37) coming out of halftime.
Two other factors behind why the Orange ultimately couldn’t pull ahead: turnovers (Syracuse had 16; Mercyhurst had 15, plenty of which were “dead ball”) and inefficiency from three (the Orange went 4/17 from downtown).
Mixed results from the trio of guards
With Donnie Freeman (17.8 PPG) still sidelined, Syracuse’s offense has certainly had its lulls, and other players have had to step into larger roles to make up that usage and production.
Against Mercyhurst, it was a balanced attack with five players finishing in double-figures. Most important of all, Syracuse’s three highest-usage guards all scored at least 12 points, even though the final results were all over the place.
JJ Starling matched his season-high with 15 points on 6/9 shooting, 10 of which came in the game’s first five minutes. Kiyan Anthony had a team-high 12 bench points on 5/11 shooting and all but four of the total scoring the Orange had from their non-starters. Naithan George (12 points) was two points off his season-best, but almost half of those came on free throws and he did also have six turnovers compared to four assists.
Going forward, Syracuse’s guard trio will need to be smart, aggressive and productive for the Orange to successfully navigate through the ACC schedule ahead.
William Kyle for MIP
Freeman is the team’s likely “Most Valuable Player,” but Kyle is absolutely playing like the team’s “Most Impactful Player.”
It isn’t the first time we’ve sung the praises of Kyle’s two-way play and it won’t be the last. He matched Starling with 15 points, going 7/8 from the field, plus added 10 rebounds (four offensive) and five blocks to the stat sheet. Kyle’s pressure around the rim and what that does for opponents, his gravity as a lob finisher, the rim protection and hustle getting to the ball off a miss are all so vital to this team’s identity.
It’s not just a change of pace compared to last year, but it’s also been consistent from the start of 2025-26 to now.
Signs of life at the foul line
Entering Wednesday night’s game, Syracuse was the worst free throw shooting team in the country. Thankfully, there was finally some regression to the mean.
The Orange went 12/16 (75%) from the charity stripe. In 11 games, it was the team’s best percentage all season and just the second time it has crossed 70%. George’s 5/5 from the line led the way clearly. Five other players got to the line exactly two times, four of which split their pair of freebies.
In a game which played out very “weirdly,” it’s at least a bright spot that can hopefully keep up.
