The Syracuse Orange defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats through a rollercoaster ride of a game.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (CBB REVIEW) – Adrian Autry can sleep well tonight knowing he won his first official game as the Orange head coach. While the Syracuse Orange defense struggled, they were able to hold on thanks to some late-game scoring.
New Hampshire drops their first game of the season, but shouldn’t be disappointed. They challenged Syracuse, outrebounding them in the second half and coming back from a large deficit that seemed impossible.
The game ended in an 83-72 victory for the Orange who will have little time to fix mistakes before a Wednesday game against the Golden Griffins of Canisius.
Takeaway #1: New Hampshire is a physical team
Not many people may think that New Hampshire has a credible basketball program, but tonight they gave the Orange some great competition.
The Wildcats played a scrappy game, toeing the line of aggressiveness and getting into foul trouble. They went for every 50/50 ball, played downhill, and were led by fearless leader Clarence Daniels.
Daniels led the Wildcats with 21 points, scoring the first 6 points for his team (who failed to score until after the nine-minute mark).
If they can play an ACC school with this type of intensity, they’ll be a real force for any opponent throughout the season.
Takeaway #2: Quadir Copeland brings sixth-man energy
As soon as Copeland came off the bench, he was helping his team out in any way he could.
He’s the type of player that may not show up on the stat sheet but is certainly making a difference with his heart and hustle.
“I’m really good at building up people,” Copeland said postgame, “and I’m able to pick people up when things are going bad.”
Copeland also achieved his first career double-double Monday night, with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
While he might not be a starter for the Orange, he’s definitely an impact player on their young team.
Takeaway #3: Syracuse needs to work beyond the three-point line
The Syracuse Orange went 5-of-21 from three; not a stat that coach Autry was proud of.
He says that they shot better tonight than they have in practice, however, and they work on shooting tirelessly during practice.
“I thought some of the plays that we called, we executed,” Autry said postgame. “We just weren’t able to make the shots.”
Autry believes that with time, the shooting will come. Hopefully soon, as the team will face harder opponents in the coming months.
Next game for the Syracuse Orange: vs. Canisius (Nov. 8 – 7 p.m.)
Next game for the New Hampshire Wildcats: Curry (Nov. 8 – 7 p.m.)