Second Half Run Propels Syracuse Basketball to Exhibition Victory
Syracuse trailed Indiana (PA) by as many as seven, but rallied in the second half to win its exhibition opener 86-68. The Orange has a week off before its final exhibition game on November 1st against Southern New Hampshire.
It was a back and forth first half capped by a half court swish to give the Crimson Hawks a one point lead. Indiana (PA) came out in the second half and extended the lead to seven before Syracuse's talent, depth and athleticism took over.
Trailing 54-47 with under 13 minutes to play, Syracuse went on a 16-0 run to regain the lead and essentially call it a night. Indiana (PA) would not get closer than six the rest of the night and the Orange would pull away down the stretch. Benny Williams has seven points during that key run, while Judah Mintz added five.
Indiana (PA) came in as one of the best division two teams in the nation, fresh off of a Final Four berth last season. They were ready to play right from the start and challenged the Orange throughout.
Syracuse tinkered with various lineups throughout and played primarily man to man defense. That led to some inconsistencies, along with playing seven new faces including six true freshmen.
Joe Girard led the Orange with 17 points while also dishing out five assists. Benny Williams had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes. He was 5-8 shooting, 1-1 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line as well. Jesse Edwards added 16 points while Judah Mintz tallied 14 points. Mintz looked every bit of the highly touted freshman he was billed to be, taking over at times when Syracuse looked like it needed a spark.
Quadir Copeland scored five points and dished out two assists. Justin Taylor had seven points while Chris Bell added three. Maliq Brown had four points and grabbed three rebounds in seven minutes.
Syracuse shot over 60% in the second half and over 50% for the game overall. Indiana (PA) made less than 40% of its shots and was just 26% from beyond the arc.
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