Syracuse Dominates Second Half, Blows Out Wake Forest
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Syracuse basketball picked up a much needed win by dominating the second half and blowing out Wake Forest 94-72 inside the Carrier Dome Saturday night. With the win, the Orange improves to 10-11 (4-6) on the season, while the Demon Deacons drop to 17-5 (7-4). The outcome snaps a two game losing streak for Syracuse and a four game winning streak for Wake Forest.
Next up for Syracuse is a matchup at NC State. That game is on Wednesday, February 2nd and tips at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
The first half saw both teams take command at different times. Syracuse opened with a 7-3 edge before Wake took control with an 11-0 run to push the lead to as many as eight. The Orange bounced back, however, and took a lead briefly late in the first half. The Demon Deacons would answer by hitting a pair of threes to take a three point edge into the locker room. Both teams shot well in the first half, with Wake at over 53% and Syracuse right at 50%.
Syracuse came out even hotter to start the second half. The Orange made eight of its first 10 shots on its way to a 22-6 run to create an 13 point lead less than six minutes after halftime. The advantage would only swell from there, growing to as much as 23 with five minutes left. Buddy Boeheim and Cole Swider were scorching hot in the second half, and the Syracuse defense got stops against a very good Wake Forest offense. Syracuse would cruise the rest of the way.
Buddy Boeheim led all scorers with 30 points on 12-21 shooting and 6-11 from beyond the arc. He added seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Cole Swider scored 18 points on 8-11 shooting. Joe Girard scored 13 points and dished out four assists while Jesse Edwards played through foul trouble to score 12 points.
Syracuse got key contributions from its bench in this one. Frank Anselem scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds in 17 minutes. Benny Williams played solid defense and grabbed three rebounds while scoring one point in 10 minutes. Symir Torrence returned and scored two points with two assists in six minutes.
Davien Williamson led Wake with 27 points on 10-16 shooting including 5-8 from three.
The Orange defense gave up open looks, but forced 17 Wake Forest turnovers that turned in 19 Syracuse points. Syracuse did a great job taking care of the ball with just five turnovers on the night.
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