Syracuse 90, Le Moyne 50: Orange cruise past Dolphins

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — In the team’s final tuneup before the start of non-conference play, the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team cruised past the Le Moyne Dolphins by a final score of 90-50 inside the Carrier Dome.

Buddy Boeheim showed no signs of soreness after tweaking his ankle in last week’s exhibition against Pace. He got the start along with Joe Girard, Cole Swider, Jimmy Boeheim and Jesse Edwards.

The Orange offense got off to a quick start as Jimmy Boeheim scored on the first play, Girard connected on back to back 3s and Buddy nailed a triple from the left wing to make it 11-4 at the first media timeout.

Boeheim and Swider drained on a pair of 3s out of the media timeout as Syracuse started 5-5 from deep. Symir Torrence, Benny Williams and Frank Anselem checked in at the fifteen minute mark. Syracuse jumped out to a double-digit lead at 23-12 at the second media timeout.

Midway through the half, Le Moyne forward and West Genesee product Luke Sutherland went down with an injury and grasped at his knee. He was helped off the floor and didn’t return to the contest. He later came out of the tunnel on crutches.

Later in the half, Syracuse went small with Jimmy Boeheim at center for extended time. The Orange forced a pair of shot-clock violations with that lineup but struggled to secure rebounds. Le Moyne worked its advantage on the glass 21-17. Benny Williams showcased his athleticism on more than one occasion, but none more emphatic than a blocked shot which was spiked out of bounds.

Symir Torrence scored on a floater before the first half concluded as all eight Syracuse players scored. The Orange walked into the half with a 41-25 lead.

In the second half, Swider got going with a pair of 3s and a layup at the tin to give Syracuse a 51-28 lead. After an Edwards layup inside, a Jimmy Boeheim dunk and Buddy Boeheim corner triple, Syracuse jumped out to a 30-point lead at 58-28.

Jim Boeheim went to his press in the second half with mixed results as SU forced some turnovers but also got beat down court on multiple occasions.

With an insurmountable lead, Boeheim inserted walk-on Paddy Casey with 12:10 remaining in the contest. After a few minutes of action, Casey drove the lane and scored on a floater and the Syracuse crowd let out its loudest cheer of the night. A source inside Syracuse Athletics confirmed to TNIAAM mid-game, “He’s a [redacted] bucket.”

From there, Le Moyne never threatened down the stretch and Syracuse was able to play its walk-ons. Chris LaValle had the icing on the cake, scoring with 1:04 remaining.

Final Stats

Girard led all scorers with 20 points and he dished out 9 helpers. Swider finished with 18 points on 4-8 shooting from outside. The Boeheim brothers and Williams all scored 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Edwards added 8 points and 6 rebounds.

Syracuse assisted on 21 of its 33 field goals and out-rebounded the Dolphins 40-32.

Next Up

Syracuse opens up non-conference play next Tuesday, Nov. 9, against Lafayette. That game tips from the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m.