Syracuse Blows Out #16 Virginia Tech
Syracuse dominated inside as they picked up a signature win over the 16th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies 78-60 Saturday afternoon. The win improves Syracuse's record to 9-4 (3-3) on the season. Virginia Tech drops to 11-3 (5-2).
Syracuse struggled to shoot from the outside for much of the game, but controlled the paint on both ends to get their best win of the season. Syracuse had 46 points in the paint to just 24 from Virginia Tech. The Orange also had eight blocks on the afternoon.
Two key runs allowed Syracuse to take control of this game. An 11-1 run at the end of the first half gave the Orange a six point lead heading into halftime. A 22-6 run midway through the second half extended Syracuse's lead to 19, and the Orange cruised from there.
Virginia Tech got off to a hot start thanks to Nahiem Alleyne, who made four of his first six three pointers on his way to 17 first half points. He finished with 20 points and did not score in the second half until there was under one minute to play. The Hokies' best player, Keve Aluma, scored just two points on 1-10 shooting. He came in averaging nearly 15 points per game.
Syracuse was led by Quincy Guerrier, Alan Griffin and Marek Dolezaj in this one. Guerrier had a game high 20 points and nine rebounds. Griffin added 15 points, 10 boards and a career high seven blocks along with two steals. Dolezaj scored 18 points to go along with six rebounds. Kadary Richmond came off the bench to score 13 points in 15 minutes.
The back court struggled to score in this one as Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard combined for just 12 points on 5-18 shooting including 1-7 from beyond the arc. They contributed in other ways, however, as they also combined for eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals.
The Orange next plays at #13 Virginia on Monday. That games tips at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.
