Syracuse basketball battled through a tough win against St. Joseph’s, beating the Hawks 71-63 for its sixth straight home victory and improving to 6-3.
The Orange struggled early after a nine-day break from their last game against Tennessee. Still riding high from that upset win, Syracuse basketball faced challenges against the Hawks’ grit and resilience.
St. Joseph’s point guard, Deuce Jones II, caused problems from the start of the game. He finished with a team-high 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals while playing 39 of 40 minutes.
The game included just one lead change, which came during a 10-point Syracuse run in the first half. Once the Orange took the lead, they controlled the game for 27 minutes. The Hawks remained within striking distance until Syracuse pulled away with two minutes left, stretching the lead to a game-high 10 points.
Syracuse basketball attempted a season-low of 14 3-pointers but still shot 42% from beyond the arc. The Orange focused on attacking the basket this game to take advantage of what St. Joseph’s gave them.
“He [head coach Adrian Autry] reminded us of what our scouting report was and what our game plan was,” Naithan George said. “We had settled a little bit…they were in a deep drop, so they either had to foul us or if we missed it, Will would be there to dunk it back.”
As Syracuse began to pull away late, the team switched between man defense and its trademark 2-3 zone to give St. Joseph’s different looks. The changes slowed the Hawks’ offense down and helped Syracuse get more stops. The Orange held St. Joseph’s to 35% shooting from the field and 19% from 3-point range.
Syracuse basketball also struggled to find its shot early while working to contain Jones and the Hawks’ offense. Through the first eight minutes, the Orange went 2-for-10 from the field before settling in and shooting 9-for-16 the rest of the half.
Five Syracuse basketball players scored in double figures. Forward, William Kyle III, posted 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Forward Tyler Betsey led the Orange off the bench with 16 points, and Nate Kingz added 14 points and 5 rebounds.
Autry said the team lacked energy, possibly because several players felt under the weather. Still, he said that didn’t excuse Syracuse’s missed free throws, fouls, lapses in rebounding effort, and careless turnovers.
“Our energy level was just not there today,” Autry said. “When you look at that difference [rebounding difference] a lot of it came in some crucial times…We have to do a better job of that, and it all goes back to our level fiv,e and it was not there today, not at all.”
Syracuse hosts Hofstra on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome, where the Orange hope to build off this win and return to their level-five energy.