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On New Year’s Day, Boston College picked apart Syracuse’s 2-3 zone and cruised to a 15-point victory in its ACC opener. When the teams met again on Saturday afternoon, the roles were reversed.

The Orange (11-7, 3-2 ACC) locked down Boston College at the Carrier Dome, forcing 20 turnovers and registering 11 steals. The Eagles (9-9, 2-3 ACC) shot just 39.6 percent from the field and the Orange pulled away early in the second half, coasting to a 76-53 victory. SU has now won three of its last four.

Now that National Signing Day is in the books, Syracuse’s 2016 class stands at 20 signees. This doesn’t mean that Dino Babers and his staff are done searching for talent just yet. Babers said in his press conference on Wednesday they will continue to look at unsigned athletes and noted that SU will need all the able-bodied players it can get. He even joked about seeing what he could get out of the fraternities on campus.

Four players scored in the double-digits for the Orange as it was a dominant team performance that propelled Syracuse to its first ACC victory. Freshman Malachi Richardson recorded a game-high 15 points while going 6-6 from the foul line. Graduate Michael Gbinije tallied 14 points, six rebounds and four steals, and junior Tyler Roberson earned his third double-double of the season, hauling in 12 rebounds and scoring 10 points. Senior DaJuan Coleman joined the action tallying 10 points of his own.  

It was a tale of two halves.

After coming off an ugly loss to St. John’s last week, Coach Hopkins stressed two points to his team in their return to the Carrier Dome: play positive and don’t fall behind early.

Although the first 20 minutes were filled with poor shooting, careless turnovers, and sloppy interior defense on both sides, Syracuse managed to lead by 4 at the half mainly due to aggressive play and strong rebounding. The second half was a completely different story.