Syracuse Falls in ACC Home Opener to Virginia
Virginia's defense was too much for Syracuse and the Cavs escaped the Dome with a 74-69 win over the Orange. With the loss, Syracuse drops to 7-6 (1-1) on the season. Virginia improves to 8-5 (2-1). Next up for Syracuse is a road game at Miami on Wednesday, January 5th.
The Boeheim brothers combined to score 45 points for Syracuse, but the rest of the Orange struggled to get anything going offensively. Players not named Boeheim were just 8-25 (32%) shooting. Virginia's aggressive, pressure defense really bothered Syracuse all game long. The Orange shot just 37% as a team and 33% from three point range. Virginia shot 53% from the floor and got great looks with excellent passing all night long. The Cavs had 22 assists on 30 made baskets.
The game started out poorly for Syracuse on both ends. Virginia's aggressive, physical defense seemed to be too much for the Orange and the Cavs were getting open looks against the zone. That allowed Virginia to jump out to a 12 point lead with about seven minutes left in the first half.
Syracuse would battle back, going on a 14-6 run over the final five minutes of the half to tie things up going into the locker room. Buddy Boeheim was able to get into the lane and draw contact, going 6-6 from the charity stripe on his way to 11 first half points. Benny Williams came off the bench to give the Orange a spark defensively and on the boards.
Syracuse took its first lead of the game early in the second half, but Virginia answered with a run to take the lead back. Most of the second half went back and forth, until a 7-0 run gave Virginia a seven point lead with about seven minutes remaining. Syracuse would cut the lead back down to three a couple of times, but could not get any closer. Every time the Orange made a push, Virginia hit a big shot.
Kihei Clark and Jayden Gardner specifically really hurt Syracuse all game long. The two combined for 32 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. Gardner scored in the paint seemingly every time he touched it inside, while Clark was selective with his shots but made the ones he took finishing 6-9 from the floor and 2-3 from three point range.
Buddy Boeheim led Syracuse with 27 points. He also dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds. Jimmy Boeheim was the only other Syracuse player in double figures, scoring 18 points while grabbing nine rebounds and snatching four steals. Jimmy was just 2-8 from the free throw line, however. Jesse Edwards blocked five shots, while Joe Girard and Cole Swider both struggled shooting the ball. Girard and Swider were a combined 4-17 from the floor and 3-12 from three point range.
