Syracuse (10-4) begins the 2015 calendar year and the Atlantic Coast Conference season 1-0 with its 68-66 victory over Virginia Tech (8-6, 0-1) in Blacksburg, Virginia on Saturday afternoon.

Although the Hokies were shorthanded without their suspended leading rebounder Joey van Zegeren, VT still made a second-half push that nearly erased SU’s 19-point halftime lead and made the Orange sweat a bit. Here are three quick takeaways from SU’s ACC opener.

Get big

With van Zegeren inactive, the Hokies started four guards. Forward Shane Henry, at 6 feet, 8 inches, was the only VT starter taller than 6 feet, 5 inches. Seven-foot freshman Satchel Pierce came off the bench, but he drew three first-half fouls and fouled out with five minutes left, and the Hokies were often relegated to small lineups.

And Syracuse took advantage, with a 26-14 edge on the boards by halftime. Tyler Roberson had 10 of his 17 boards by the break and Rakeem Christmas had 10 first-half points en route to a 17-point, nine-rebound performance.

First step

ACC play proved to be the beginning of Trevor Cooney’s downfall last season after a strong nonconference performance.

And his outing Saturday encompassed both ups and downs. Cooney netted 18 points and did so with the versatility that he’s displayed well so far this season. He hit four 3s, connected on a few midrange pull-up jumpers and aggressively attacked the rim as he helped diversify SU’s inside-heavy offense.

But Cooney had a rough second half, making just one of his nine attempts, as the Orange shot 31.8 percent in the second half after a 43.2 percent clip in the first. When it was all said and done, Cooney finished 6-for-21, including 4-of-13 from 3-point land.

Changing of the guard

While Cooney turned in a strong first half, point guard Kaleb Joseph played just eight minutes in the first frame to Ron Patterson’s 12. Joseph committed two first-half fouls and picked up his third and fourth in the second half, which opened up more playing time for Patterson.

The sophomore’s 3-point shooting woes continued, misfiring on four attempts, but he successfully drove to the basket and dished out three assists to make himself useful while Joseph sat on the bench.

But Patterson also contributed to the Orange’s free-throw shooting troubles — making just two out of six in the final 41 seconds — at the end of the game that kept the Hokies within striking distance.

Published on January 3, 2015 at 2:33 pm