Behind an offensive outburst, Syracuse beat Boston College, 81-63, Wednesday night inside the Carrier Dome. Tyus Battle led all scorers with 24 points, reaching 20-or-more points for the 11th time in 20 games this season. Frank Howard added 18, Paschal Chukwu 14 and Oshae Brissett had 13. Five SU (14-6, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) players finished in double-figures for the second time this season. For the Eagles (13-8, 3-5), which beat Duke and Florida State earlier this season, a hot shooting start evaporated about six minutes into the game.

Here are three quick takeaways from the Orange’s win three days ahead of a road matchup at Pittsburgh.

Offensive prowess

The Syracuse offense had a coming out of sorts in the second half at then-No. 23 Florida State, which was more than a week ago. The Orange returned to its weaker form last week against Pittsburgh, scoring only 59 points at home. But Wednesday, SU drilled 60.4 percent of its shots from the floor and looked as efficient on offense as it has all season.

For the first time in conference play, the Orange had working both a perimeter offense and strong interior game. Chukwu, a junior center, was strong around the rim, collecting 14 points on putbacks and hook shots. Howard shot well from deep, an ongoing trend for the junior point guard since the Georgetown game more than a month ago. He connected on three of his eight 3-point attempts.

The Dolezaj effect

The Orange capped off the final 14-plus minutes of first-half basketball on a 36-23 run, including a mini 13-3 run. Freshman forward Marek Dolezaj does not deserve the bulk of the credit, but his entrance into the game coincided with the Orange’s offense explosion. He spaced the floor well, chipped in eight points and shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. He played a career-high 35 minutes.

Dolezaj added a pair of assists, as well, and he found room in the middle of the floor. The Orange has gained little offensive production from the elbow area this season, but he hit a jumper near that spot amid a second-half run to pull away from the Eagles.

Booted

Syracuse redshirt freshman Matthew Moyer exited the game and headed for the tunnel at the 14:33 mark in the first half, which prompted Dolezaj’s entrance. An SU Athletics spokesman said Moyer sprained his left ankle and will be re-evaluated Thursday. In five minutes, he had one rebound, zero points and a pair of turnovers.

Published on January 24, 2018 at 9:04 pm

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