Highlights & Recap: Syracuse 80 Cornell 68
Old rivals Syracuse and Cornell met for the 126th time, with the Orange once again taking the win, their 92nd all-time in the series and 41st straight with a 80-68 triumph.
The game was Jimmy Boeheim’s first time facing his former squad, and he finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal. He was one of two starters (Cole Swider) with zero turnovers.
"It was definitely a little weird,” Jimmy said. “I gotta lot of love for that program and everyone on that sideline. It wasn't like a revenge game or anything like that."
Forwards Buddy Boeheim and Cole Swider combined for 43 points, their highest combination of the season. Jimmy Boeheim scored the opening bucket for the 10th time in the 12 games this season, which, according to Swider, is a running joke on the team.
“It's a joke within our team, he goes out there and scores it every single time so we're going to keep giving it to him,” Swider said.
Syracuse outscored Cornell by just five in the first half but took off after holding the Big Red to 14 points in the first 10 minutes, solidifying a lead that never left.
"I like Cornell's team,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “They're pretty tough to play against. They had a couple of guys that can really shoot. We guarded them pretty good, from the 3-point line, and they still made 13."
Syracuse quickly built a 21-5 lead in the first 10 minutes after Colgate shot a miserable 2-13.
While not scoring, Symir Torrence had his presence known well too, grabbing a rebound, a block, and picking up three assists in his eight minutes of first-half action.
The Orange were clearly not out of the woods yet, as they led the Big Red slowly creep back into the game. Cornell went on a 14-4 run over the next five minutes, closing the lead to just six.
Cornell was helped back into the game by Syracuse’s untimely turnovers. Both squads finished the half with 11 turnovers, but eight of SU’s giveaways happened in the final 11 minutes.
Cornell, a primarily three-point shooting team, shot 24 of their 31 first-half shots from deep and landed eight of them. SU, in comparison, only hit 2-12 despite an impressive 16-30 from the field.
The start of the second half was almost as tight as the close of the first with no real break until the 15:55 mark. After that time, Cornell would only score two points until 10:22 to go in the game.
From 14:59 to 13:04, Swider absolutely exploded, outscoring the Big Red 8-3 by himself. Swider finished with 21 points, a season-high total plus the first time he’s finished with over 20 points with the team.
"As a shooter, you have to stay confident,” Swider said. “The best shooters go through shooting slumps. Shooters stay in the routine and try to stay in rhythm. It is a blessing to play with guys that trust me and give me this opportunity".
The Big Red would pick up the scoring again, but they would never get within nine before Syracuse closed out the win.
Despite only a 30% mark from deep, the Orange shot an impressive 56.1% from the field compared to the Big Red’s 35.4% overall shooting.
The Orange next face off against Virginia in its home conference opener this Saturday, New Year’s Day, at 6 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.
