But Jardine seems to remember the last time the Orange played a ranked opponent away from the Carrier Dome. They had just made a Division I team look like a high school squad, and are rolling headed into its first game not in the state of New York.īut was this the most fun the team has had all season? Maybe to some. The players were loose after the game, sitting down in the new plush couches in the locker room to relax. Only one starter, Jackson, played more than 20 minutes. The second-string unit played massive minutes in the game, with Southerland scoring 10 points in 20 minutes off the bench. Syracuse played street ball at times in the second half, just throwing up haphazard shots and neglecting to play defense at times. Maine played more competitively in the second half but didn’t quite have a 48-point comeback in it. ‘We were just out there playing and playing hard, and I don’t think we concentrated much on the score, like we don’t concentrate on our ranking or anything like that.’
‘I don’t think we realized it was a 32-0 run,’ Rautins said. Maine ended the half connecting on 4-of-31 shots. Maine’s Sean McNally shot a close-range shot that was headed in before Rick Jackson swatted it away, and goaltending was called, prompting a chorus of boos. The boo-birds came out with the clock dwindling toward zero at the end of the first half. At one point, a jumper careened off the neck of the hoop that connects the support to the back of the glass.īut it wasn’t all fun and games. Syracuse’s stingy 2-3 zone defense kept Maine shooting 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers, and Maine put up more than its fair share of air balls. The Black Bears couldn’t buy a bucket until late in the game. Maine’s football team scored more first-half points (17) against the Orange when the teams met in October than the Maine basketball team (12). Scoop Jardine and James Southerland connected on 3’s.
#Squad obliteration full
The fast-break dunks came out in full force. Syracuse went on a 34-2 run to end the half, leading a 48-point edge. ‘We did a very good job of finding the right people and moving the ball. ‘We shot the ball well, and when we make shots, we’re difficult to defend, and it opened up the inside,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. Syracuse had a 29-10 lead over the Black Bears (3-4), and the game wasn’t even 10 minutes old. Johnson and Rautins connected for another monstrous alley-oop, ignited by a behind-the-back pass from Triche to Rautins. Missed shots were followed with put-backs for easy points. Pull-up 3’s from the top of the arc swished in. Syracuse’s offense was nearly impeccable.
Two quick lay-ups by Brandon Triche, including a nice spin move from the left side of the basket, and an easy lay-up by Arinze Onuaku gave Syracuse a 6-0 lead just 1:47 into the game. This glorified practice for the game against Florida in the Big East/SEC Invitational was essentially over just three baskets into the game. ‘It was fun to go out there and play, and compete and everybody seemed like they were clicking tonight.’ ‘It was really fun, especially going into the Florida game,’ said Johnson, referring to SU’s matchup with the No.
The Orange took a 60-12 lead into halftime and used a 34-2 run to end the first half, including a 32-0 run that at one point that spanned 10:44. Syracuse destroyed – one of many applicable verbs – Maine by 46 points to improve to 8-0. ‘I was talking to Wes (Johnson) on the bench and said, ‘Man, this is so much fun playing with this team because the way we move the ball, the way we play defense.’ We wanted to go out there and beat them by 100.
‘It was so much fun,’ shooting guard Andy Rautins said. Syracuse’s 101-55 win over lowly Maine on Saturday night at the Carrier Dome can be described with any word in the dictionary besides competitive. It may as well have been an exhibition game in December.
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