SU’s stellar performances included two consecutive blowout victories over California and defending national champion North Carolina at Madison Square Garden. With those wins, the Orange made a strong impression with national media – but then had to go home and avoid a letdown against a pair of Ivy League goes.
Two days before Thanksgiving, SU defeated Cornell 67-52, wearing down the two-time defending Ivy League champions who are favored to make it three in a row.
Most of the players traveled home for a brief intermission to enjoy the holiday. Upon their return on Friday, they would face the 2-1 Columbia Lions.
In front of an animated 18,145 fans at the Carrier Dome, SU demonstrated that they did not want to be a victim of a trap game.
Iowa State transfer forward Wesley Johnson delivered his career best performance scoring 26 points, adding three assists and three steals.
The Orange’s offense was well-balanced and had nearly five players in double figures, allowing Syracuse to roar past Columbia 85-60 and moves to 6-0 on the season. SU’s victory marked the 805th for head coach Jim Boeheim, who surpassed Eddie Sutton for seventh place in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.
Arinze Onuaku scored 12 points and grabbed five boards. Forward Rick Jackson was close to a double-double, chipping in with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Impressively, Syracuse had 11 players who scored and the bench contributed with 28 points. In a pleasant surprise, Mookie Jones logged in 14 minutes, while profiting from his playing time by adding 12 points and connecting on four 3-point shots.
Jones said that the reason why he abruptly left the court Tuesday evening was because he wanted more playing time against Cornell.
“It was a bad descion on my part walking off the court,” said Jones. “I was wrong the way I handled it. The coach and discussed it and everything is cool.”
Scoop Jardine from Philadelphia PA pitched in with eight points and also dished out a game-best seven assists, adding five steals.
In the first half, SU stormed out to a 9-2 lead by the strong interior presence of Onuaku. However, Columbia guard Noruwa Agho refused to let game get out of reach, drilling a 3-pointer in the right corner that the cut margin to 9-5.
Undaunted by the challenge, Syracuse generated a 9-2 run that eventually gave them a nine- point advantage, 24-15 with 12:15 remaining. SU elevated their intensity defensively causing four Columbia turnovers and proceeded to cash in with eight easy fast break points.
Still, SU was sloppy on offense, forcing a few shots that rolled around the rim and did not fall. It also committed six turnovers that allowed Columbia to cut the margin to 31-23.
One of SU’S featured highlights occurred at the 3:33 mark. Brandon Triche delivered a picture-perfect pass to Johnson, whose two-handed dunk spun the crowd into a frenzy.
The Orange led at halftime 36-27, and the Lions fought valiantly to stay within striking distance. Columbia shot well from 3-point range at 50 percent, largely due to Agho who had a team-high 11 points.
“We knew that we had to come out with a different spark,” said Johnson. “In the first half, we came out sluggish and were not playing with enough energy.”
In the second half, Syracuse’s offense took command with an 18-3 run. With surgical precision, the Orange dissected the Lions’ man-to-man defense with excellent passing to Johnson, who buried two long 3-pointers. This was followed by Jones’ 3-pointer from the top of key and Syracuse was rewarded with a 17 point cushion.
From that point on it was a complete downward spiral as Columbia was worn down and overmatched. SU took advantage of its size, speed and athleticism, outscoring Columbia 40-18 in the paint.
SU, overall, shot 52.6 percent, while holding the Lions offense to only 37.9 percent. In addition, the Orange’s stellar defense played a major role causing 20 Columbia turnovers.
