the Syracuse orange The men’s basketball team earned its first win of the second quarter of the season by upsetting Virginia Tech 82-72 at home on Wednesday night. Syracuse is now 8-1 all time against hockey at home.
The Orange started to slump again, but managed to build a 43-37 lead at the break thanks to nine points from Joe Gerrard and Jesse Edwards on top of a huge lift off the bench.
Syracuse kept their foot on the gas in the second half and built a lead as large as 22 on a hot offense. The Hockey, meanwhile, struggled to find the bottom of the net as Syracuse’s steady guard play flourished.
Gerrard led his team with 24 points and Edwards made his presence felt, finishing just shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds to go with six assists and two blocks. Jim Boeheim is getting more out of his attackers and may have found something in Malik Brown.
Overall, a good winning team for Syracuse with contributions across the board. for fast food.
New attackers keep advancing
Don’t look now, but the newbies forward just made their move.
The new pair from Virginia continued to extend their lead after losing Saturday in Virginia. The Browns and Justin Taylor gave Syracuse significant minutes off the bench, especially in the first half. Brown scored five points and grabbed five rebounds, while Taylor scored eight points on a pair of three-pointers in the first half.
Taylor was more aggressive in searching for his shot. In the second half, Brown started in place of Benny Williams. He finished his first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
“He’s going to be a great player for us the rest of the year,” said Joe Gerrard of Brown after the match.
Taylor finished with ten points and a pair of boards. The two played starting minutes off the bench in two consecutive games.
Should Justin Taylor and Malik Brown up front be the starting line-up?
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they play so well with these guys on that field a lot of it
– Tommy Hogan (_tommyhogan) January 12, 2023
Variation of Threes
No Hunter Cator equaled fewer problems for Syracuse.
The Orange have struggled to defend all three this year, having given up a 33.8% discount outside coming into the night. Syracuse also doesn’t have the big guns on the outside like it did a year ago on the other end either.
But the three-point difference was essential in this game. Virginia Tech freshman Rodney Rice made his first start of the season but finished 0-5 from three. Sean Pedulla really struggled to land shots and took some frustrating pulls. He finished 2-11 from deep.
While Virginia Tech tried to pass the ball up the high post and around the rim for most of the second half, the Hokies were unable to connect from deep all night.
Virginia Tech shot 15.8% from the outside while Syracuse shot a season-high 50% from the range, putting them down 8-16.
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Photo by Brian M Bennett/Getty Images
A confident Gerard bears it
After his 24-point night against Virginia Tech, Joe Girard has now averaged 21.8 points per game in ACC play. He put 20 shots into these (fired 50%) and spoke to the green light and faith Jim Boeheim had given him.
“That’s why you came to Syracuse. The coach plays through his guards and makes them confident. He’s a celebrity for a reason,” Gerrard said. “It was my dream to play for him.”
Gerrard was confidently mature in this game with a passion for the match. Arms raised after doing the triceps, shrugging shoulders and a little, “Let’s go!” The cries of the crowd were telling Gerrard of his self-confidence. He has his limits to be sure, but the gap between Gerrard now and his three-game slide at the start of the season is a mile wide.