Syracuse opened its exhibition slate on Thursday night in the Carrier Dome with an 80-49 win over Division II opponent St. Rose. The Orange allowed St. Rose to hang around for most of the first half before taking a 15-point lead into the break. SU didn’t struggle in the second half as they cruised to a big exhibition victory.

Here are three takeaways from SU’s win.

Buddy at the buzzer

Buddy Boeheim started at the shooting guard spot with all three of Syracuse’s point guards out and Tyus Battle shifted to point guard. Buddy made his first shot against non-SU opposition on a pump fake, two dribbles left, pull up swish from the left baseline. Buddy added a 3 from the right corner and made two free throws in the first half.

And as the first-half clock wound down, Buddy received a pass forward from Battle near half-court, before dribbling to the right wing and pulling up. He knocked the 3 down at the buzzer to score 10 in the first half. Early in the second, he pulled up on a 3-on-2 break from the top of the key but missed. Soon after, he drove right and pulled up for 2 and a swish in the lane. He replicated that shortly after on a similar move. He kept filling it up from there, too.

The freshman finished with 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting and 3-for-7 from 3.

Buddy also showed an ability to put the ball on the floor, with the Orange sending pick-and-roll opportunities his way on multiple occasions. His best moment as a distributor came midway through the first half, when he came left off a screen, drove to the middle of the lane, then kicked out to Elijah Hughes for a wide-open left baseline jumper.

Not making a point

As mentioned above, Battle started at the point. He played every minute of the first half at that spot, too. Hughes brought the ball up the floor a few times, but the Orange looked for Battle as their outlet off of defensive rebounds.

Battle struggled with his shot, missing all six of his field-goal attempts in the first half. He finished 1-for-10 with seven points.

Battle ran the point until about 10 minutes left in the second half, when he checked out and Hughes ran it for just less than five minutes.

Running the show, Battle still seemed to focus on getting downhill first on drives before looking to pass, although he seemed more comfortable passing in transition, like on the assist to Buddy at the end of the first half. Midway through the second half, he had an obvious swing pass to Robert Braswell in the right corner as the Orange swung the ball around the perimeter. Braswell was wide open, and SU head coach Jim Boeheim has referred to him as a surprisingly good shooter. Battle either didn’t see it or didn’t make the pass, though.

Battle finished with six assists to two turnovers.

First look

Along with Buddy’s SU exhibition debut, Hughes started for the Orange. The transfer from East Carolina sat out last season but started at the small forward spot in his first opportunity to do so.

His Orange action started fast, jumping a passing lane on the weak side of the zone and coasting to the other end for a slam. Two offensive possessions later, Oshae Brissett drove and kicked to Hughes at the top of the key. He swished the 3.

Hughes kept getting out in transition, getting another dunk off a pass forward from Brissett and his third slam on an interception at the top of the key that he took for an easy finish. He made multiple wing 3s in the second half, as well, showing an ability to get to the rim and make shots from outside.

Hughes finished with 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting and 3-for-6 from 3.

Published on October 25, 2018 at 9:20 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3