On Halloween Night, Syracuse played its last exhibition game of the season where they ended up decimating familiar foe Le Moyne, 89-52. Here are some notes from Wednesday’s win:
- Syracuse’s starting five were forward Oshae Brissett, center Paschal Chukwu, guard Tyus Battle, forward Elijah Hughes and guard Buddy Boeheim. All, aside from Chukwu, finished their nights with double digits in points.
- Le Moyne jumped out to an early lead as Syracuse had problems covering the 3-point shot from CJ Asuncion-Byrd. Asuncion-Byrd drained three 3-point shots on his team’s first three possessions.
- After the offensive outburst by Le Moyne, the Dolphins cooled down and Syracuse began its comeback. SU gained the lead at 13-12 and never looked back.
- Hughes impressed again, especially early. He started over Marek Dolezaj and led all scorers with 16 points in the first half, going 5 for 5 from the field. He finished with 21 points.
- Brissett appears to be more consistent as a shooter in his sophomore season. He had a pair of 3s and had 12 points in the first half, finishing with 14.
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- Last year, Syracuse finished last in the ACC from downtown, shooting at just 31.8 percent. In its first exhibition game against Saint Rose, the Orange shot a 38.5 percent from beyond the arc and continued to excel with the long ball, shooting 5 for 8 in the first half (62.5 percent). SU slowed down in the second half, but still finished 9 for 19 (47.4).
- In a place where Syracuse historically struggles, SU was perfect at the free throw line in the first half, hitting all 10 of its attempts, finishing 16-19.
- Battle continued to play point guard this week after struggling as the primary ball handler last week against Saint Rose. He scored just seven points last week, but ended with 13 against Le Moyne. He will continue to start there while Frank Howard, Howard Washington and Jalen Carey are all nursing injuries.
- Syracuse’s offense appears to be quite potent. It would seem that any one of their starting five can get hot and help pad a lead or help play catchup. Chukwu started the second half with six of the Orange’s 15 points to finish with eight.
- Starters began to be pulled out at the 8:34 mark with Syracuse leading comfortably, 75-42.
- Syracuse will open their regular season next Tuesday at 7 p.m. as they kick off the 2K Empire Classic Tournament against Eastern Washington in the Carrier Dome.
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