A quick take on Syracuse’s 80-67 win over Texas Southern on Saturday evening:
WHAT HAPPENED: Coming out of intermission up eight points, Syracuse started the second half on an 15-0 run capped by a Frank Howard layup with 14:59 left for a 53-30 lead. Tyus Battle, who sat for much of the first half with two fouls, accounted for nine points during that pivotal run, moving Syracuse to 3-0 on the season.
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ANALYSIS: With Tyus Battle in early first half trouble and Oshae Brissett struggling through a 2-12 shooting night, Jim Boeheim got excellent bench production from Geno Thorpe and Marek Dolezaj. Dolezaj stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two blocks, while Thorpe provided some timely outside scoring, going 3-7 from beyond the arc for 13 points. In the second half, Battle showed just how valuable he is to Syracuse, scoring seemingly at will from inside and out. He started the SU scoring out of the break with a 3-pointer, and later followed with an impressive spin from the corner of the court that resulted in a crowd-pleasing slam. If it wasn’t clear whether Battle could handle the pressure of being SU’s top gun, it’s certainly obvious now that he can.
HERO: Battle finished with 21 points to lead all scorers. Bourama Sidibe came off the bench for 11 points and three rebounds.
ZERO: Brissett had his first off shooting night of his SU career, missing all four of his three pointers and only two made baskets for seven points, but still managed to contribute seven points and 10 rebounds.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Orange is back in action on Monday, as it hosts Oakland at 7 p.m. at the Carrier Dome. TV: ACC Network Extra.
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