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Syracuse’s season-opener against Le Moyne was supposed to be a layup. Instead, SU needed 22 Jyare Davis points, a second-half rally and a crunch-time Chris Bell steal to squeak out an 86-82 victory. Following their lackluster start to the season, the Orange had to wait eight days before hosting Colgate — a program they’ve struggled with recently.

The Raiders defeated SU in 2021 and 2022 and nearly beat it for a third straight year. However, Syracuse overcame a 24-point second-half deficit to notch a 79-75 win, its largest comeback victory since 1998.

For the fourth consecutive year, SU struggled against Colgate. As they did against Le Moyne, the Orange failed to build a lead. Despite leading by as many as 13 in the second half, Syracuse couldn’t put the game out of reach and the Raiders continued to stick around, eventually tying the game 72-72 with just over a minute remaining. After missing three key free throws down the stretch, the Orange were lifted to their second win courtesy of an Eddie Lampkin Jr. layup.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 74-72 win over Colgate (1-2, 0-0 Patriot League):

3-point struggles

Last season, the Orange’s 33.6% 3-point percentage ranked 11th in the ACC. But they showed promise beyond the arc in their two exhibitions. Syracuse shot 12-of-34 from 3 against Clarion before improving to 15-of-32 versus Slippery Rock.

Against Le Moyne, though, SU shot an abysmal 4-for-22 on 3s. Bell led the way, making 2-of-6 triples, while J.J. Starling (1-for-5) and Donnie Freeman (1-for-3) were SU’s only other players to connect from long distance.

The Orange began the game 2-of-4 from inside the arc before Starling cashed in a right-wing 3 off a feed from Jaquan Carlos, giving them a 7-0 lead at the 17:45 mark. Yet SU missed its next five 3s, with the lowlight being a Starling airball.

Once Colgate dropped into a zone, Syracuse’s bigs began getting open looks. First, Davis connected on an open look, giving SU a 19-16 lead midway through the half. Three minutes later, Petar Majstorovic was left wide-open from the left corner and drained his first career 3, extending the Orange’s lead to 26-19.

The Raiders continued daring SU to defeat them from deep. Late in the first half, Syracuse made them pay, as Carlos and Lucas Taylor gave it a 36-30 lead nailing back-to-back triples. Meanwhile, Colgate — which shot 25.9% on 3s in its first two games — was 10-of-27.

After shooting 5-of-15 from deep in the first half, SU only attempted eight triples in the second, making three of them. Colgate’s zone played a large factor in why the Orange stopped shooting from behind the arc.

Colgate’s zone

The Raiders began the game playing man-to-man, but after center Jeff Woodward committed his second foul nearly eight minutes into the game, they started displaying a zone. Colgate frequently had a defender positioned atop the key, but its look mostly resembled a 2-3 zone.

The defense tried provoking Syracuse to shoot from behind the arc. As the Orange worked the ball down low, a litany of Colgate defenders continuously crashed inside, preventing easy looks near the rim. SU shot just 10-of-22 on 2s in the first half.

Throughout the second half, the Raiders’ respect for Syracuse’s outside shooting was further exacerbated. Continuously, they left SU open in the corners. Yet, the Orange either missed their looks or dribbled inside the arc.

While there were some anomalies, like Lampkin making his first career 3, Syracuse mostly fed the ball inside to close the game. The Orange’s last 3-point attempt came on a Bell make with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.

Failing to pull away

A key theme throughout SU’s first three halves this season was that it couldn’t pull away. In the first half against Le Moyne, the Orange mostly trailed. They then rallied to lead throughout most of the second half. Still, SU’s lead was never more than eight points, allowing the Dolphins to hang around until the final minute.

While Syracuse led most of the first half against Colgate, it again couldn’t rip off a run. The Orange saw their lead grow to 30-22, but the Raiders closed the half with an 11-6 run, cutting their halftime deficit to 36-33.

The Orange began the half on fire, as Freeman fired a half-court pass to Bell, who converted on an and-one. After netting a defensive stop, Starling connected on his second 3, extending SU’s lead to 42-33. Colgate’s Parker Jones answered with a triple of his own, but Lampkin then nailed the first 3 of his career, regaining a nine-point advantage. Lampkin bullied his way inside for his 11th point a minute later, forcing a Colgate timeout.

Leading by double-digits for the first time all season, Syracuse’s lead ballooned to 13 following a Freeman layup. Then, Colgate chipped away. The Raiders made four straight field goals, including two 3s, to cut their deficit to 57-53 eight minutes into the half before a second-chance layup from Sam Wright cut their deficit to two.

While Syracuse never trailed, its lead never extended beyond six points from that point. And for the second consecutive game, the Orange had to fight in the final minute to notch a win.

Cox’s takeover

Jalen Cox’s takeover went hand in hand with the Raiders not letting SU pull away. After scoring six points in the first half and being mostly inefficient, the guard tacked on another two to begin the half. Then, he canned his first 3 seven minutes into the second half, cutting Colgate’s deficit to 55-48.

After his teammates cut Syracuse’s lead down to one possession, Cox kept tacking on. First, he nailed a jumper to make the score 61-58. While Bell followed with a triple, Cox scored in transition a minute later, cutting the Orange’s lead to 64-60 at the 7:27 mark.

Following an Elijah Moore miss, Cox again buried Syracuse in transition, cashing in a layup that cut the score to 66-64. Lampkin proceeded to double SU’s lead on the next possession, but Cox again got inside to make it a one-possession game on the ensuing play with five minutes remaining.

Syracuse contained Cox to just one point for the remainder of the game, but the guard finished with 21 points on 9-of-20 shooting.

Published on November 12, 2024 at 9:20 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon