Syracuse jumped out to another early lead and cruised to its second win in as many games. The No. 18 Orange (2-0) beat Holy Cross (0-2), 90-46, Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome. Tyler Lydon improved around the basket, SU head coach Jim Boeheim went to his bench early and Andrew White flashed the shooting ability he displayed at Nebraska last season.

Lydon attacks at the rim

After scoring just two points in Syracuse’s season opener against Colgate, Boeheim said Lydon had to do a better job getting near the basket. Boeheim mentioned that once Lydon gets offensive boards, he has to finish the easy layups. Lydon’s first four baskets were all near the rim. He racked up three offensive boards in the first half.

He continued his strong play early in the second half with a sequence in which he saved a loose ball from going out of bounds along the baseline. After whipping the ball back onto the court and to Tyler Roberson without looking, he tumbled into the folding chairs adjacent to the court. The offensive board led to a Frank Howard layup. SU’s student section began chanting his name and on the Orange’s next possession, Lydon hit his first 3 of the season.

After struggling in Syracuse’s two exhibition games and against Colgate, the player who was named to the Wooden Award watch list on Tuesday proved why against the Crusaders. He finished with 17 points and six rebounds.

Short leash

On Holy Cross’ first possession of the game, Robert Champion received a pass at the top of the 3-point arc on Howard’s side of the zone. Champion, with time and space, stepped into the shot and knocked it down to give the Crusaders a 3-0 lead. SU head coach Jim Boeheim immediately spun around and told backup point guard John Gillon to check in.

Gillon checked in at the next stoppage, three minutes into the game. He subbed in alongside backup center Paschal Chukwu, who replaced Dajuan Coleman. The possession before subbing out, Coleman allowed Champion to slip behind him and Champion had an easy path to the hoop along the baseline to tie the game, 5-5.

Both substitutions were made as a result of Syracuse’s defense, something that Boeheim said needs work with new players being added to the mix this season. In the early going on Tuesday, it was two more experienced players who were taken out early.

White hot again

Andrew White impressed again with a game-high 19 points on 5-of-10 from 3. He got off to a hot start with 12 of Syracuse’s first 31 points in the first 12 minutes of the game. He helped spark the Orange’s 18-3 run to put SU up, 36-14.

White scored 17 in the season opener but made only two 3s against Colgate.

Early on, White answered Holy Cross when the score was still tight. White tied the game up at 3-3 and knocked down another triple after the Crusaders cut the deficit to 13-8. He flashed his highly-touted shooting skills that had SU fans salivating in the offseason. As a junior at Nebraska, White made 41 percent of the 3s he took.

Published on November 15, 2016 at 9:22 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds