Syracuse Blows Out Lehigh in Impressive Season Opening Win
Syracuse used a 14-2 run midway through the first half to create some separation from Lehigh and never looked back as the Orange cruised to an 90-72 season opening victory. SU will attempt to improve to 2-0 when it faces Colgate next Tuesday, November 15th in the JMA Wireless Dome. The win was the 1,100th in head coach Jim Boeheim's Hall of Fame career (the NCAA has ridiculously taken away 101 wins away from the record book, however).
Syracuse went to Jesse Edwards early and often as Lehigh had no answer for the Orange's starting center. Edwards scored in the low post, in transition and off the pick and roll, hitting double digits in the first half along with freshman guard Judah Mintz and veteran Joe Girard.
To open the second half, Girard and Mintz provided most of the offense as Syracuse pushed an 18 point halftime advantage past 20 in the first six and a half minutes. Lehigh would never seriously challenge the rest of the way. Lehigh would score some garbage time points to make the margin look closer than it actually was.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect was Syracuse playing man to man defense for the vast majority of the game. While head coach Jim Boeheim indicated they would play a lot of man this season, given the Orange was an exclusively zone team for years and years, it was still odd to see it despite the aforementioned warning. The Orange's defense was solid for most of the night, holding the Mountain Hawks to 34% shooting in the first half including 1-10 from beyond the arc.
The Orange played 10 players at least five minutes and showed a lot of versatility with its lineups.
Last season, Syracuse was one of the better three point shooting teams in the ACC. The Orange only attempted 12 in this one, making half of them as it looked to attack the rim and score in transition.
Girard finished with a team high 19 points including 4-6 shooting from three point range. Edwards had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Judah Mintz had 16 points on 6-9 shooting and three assists in his Syracuse debut. Symir Torrence added 10 points off the bench.
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