Tuesday night, #18 Syracuse overwhelmed South Carolina State with a balanced attack, coming out in waves and claiming a 101-59 victory at the Carrier Dome. Nine players saw time in the first half and all of them scored in that time for the Orange (4-0), then eight of them did the same in the second half before ceding the court to their walk-on teammates.
The Bulldogs (1-3) were completely overmatched, as SU cracked the 100-point mark for the first time in five seasons. The Orange held a 54-32 rebounding advantage and piled up 25 assists. SU also more than doubled SCSU in field goal percentage, connecting on 54.4 percent of their attempts compared to a 27.1 percent success rate for the guests.
After the Bulldogs got a heaved three to beat the shot clock after winning the tip, Syracuse quickly restored order by scoring the game’s next 15 points.
Tyler Lydon opened the scoring with a left wing three, then Andrew White III matched him from the right wing to give the Orange the lead. Tyler Roberson hit a pair at the line, then Frank Howard went coast-to-coast for a lay-up and added a straightaway three. Following the first television timeout, John Gillon added a pair of free throws to make it 15-3 in SU’s favor just under six minutes into the game.
SCSU did not go quietly into the night, grinding out the next six points while holding the Orange without a score for a stretch of nearly four minutes.
With SU later holding a six-point lead, they delivered another run, this one a 13-2 advantage, to take a commanding lead. DaJuan Coleman started it with five straight points, including a smooth spin move on the left block. John Gillon added a high-arcing floater, then a long three-pointer after a Bulldog bucket. Tyus Battle then added a three of his own for a 31-14 Syracuse lead.
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South Carolina State replied with an 8-2 run to get within 11, but the Orange put some extra space between the two teams over the final 2:31 of the half and held a 46-31 lead at the break.
SU quickly pushed the lead out to 20 points after halftime, then used a 38-7 run to blow the game wide open.
Lydon buried a right corner three to start the festivities, then Howard set up White III for a left side lay-up in transition, then White III added a free throw on the next trip. Taurean Thompson added a lay-up, then Howard followed a Bulldog three with a long jumper. Lydon splashed a right side three, then Gillon chased down a long rebound and turned it into a lay-up. Tyler Roberson turned in the highlight of the burst by blocking a shot, then chasing down the loose ball in the frontcourt and throwing down a dunk for a 75-43 Syracuse lead.
After another SCSU three, the Orange piled on eight straight points in the blink of an eye. Roberson hit a pair from the line, then Gillon dunked in transition. Roberson tapped home a missed transition opportunity, then Howard set up Chukwu for another bucket and an 83-46 lead. White III swished a right wing three to push the lead to 40, then Howard rattled one of his own home.
The Bulldogs put a foul shot on their side of the ledger, but White III stuck a fadeaway jumper, then Roberson converted a three-point play in transition. With 3:05 left, the walk-ons came in and Adrian Autry, Jr. finished the run with a banked jumper to make it 96-47.
The walk-ons added on to the scoreboard during some ragged play in the remaining time. Doyin Akintobi-Adeyeye brought the crowd to their feet with a two-handed dunk, then Ray Featherston pushed SU past the century mark by drilling a three.
Andrew White III topped Syracuse for the third straight game, leading a balanced attack with 15 points. Tyler Lydon hit four triples and was one of three Orange players to post a double-double, posting 14 points and ten rebounds. Tyler Roberson hung up 13 points and grabbed a dozen boards while Frank Howard had ten points and handed out 11 assists with only one turnover. John Gillon added 14 points to go with three steals and Taurean Thompson added a dozen points while blocking four shots, a feat matched by Paschal Chukwu.
The Orange will head to Brooklyn, New York on Saturday for a matchup with South Carolina in the headliner of the Brooklyn Holiday Hoops Invitational. The Gamecocks (4-0) will face #25 Michigan on Wednesday before meeting up with SU. Saturday’s action will get underway at 2:30pm Eastern and the game will be available online at ESPN3.com.
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