Syracuse Basketball: Orange Stifle Adrian, 84-35, In Exhibition Finale

Despite some very erratic first-half shooting Monday night the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team overpowered Adrian College, 84-35, at the Carrier Dome in front of a crowd of just over 7,000. The contest was the Orange's final warm up before this Friday's regular-season opener against visiting Kennesaw State (7 p.m.).

The Orange led, 37-24, at halftime after shooting just 29 percent from the floor. SU ran away with the victory by clamping down on defense. For nearly 15 minutes, from the end of the first half and until nearly nine minutes remaining in the game, the Bulldogs failed to score a point, while the Orange used a 23-0 run to put the game completely out of reach.

Chris McCullough combined for a game-best 13 points and 16 rebounds. Rakeem Christmas tallied the Orange's second most points with 12 and also added five rebounds and five blocks. Michael Gbinije, Trevor Cooney and Ron Patterson each reached double digits in scoring netting 10 points.

For those curious, Cooney, again, struggled with his 3-point shooting stroke going only 2-for-9 from downtown. In the combined two preseason games, the junior sharp shooter is 4-for-13. Patterson finished the game 2-for-7 from long range.

Ben Rodak led Adrian in scoring with eight points. Teammate Justin Webster added seven.

Alas, the preseason is over and from here on out it all counts. Check back for a more detailed recap of the game, in the mean time, enjoy your tacos all and leave your comments here.