The Syracuse Orange [6] men's basketball team doesn't need any more exhibition games. Lucky for them, they don't have any more.
The Orange annihilated the Bloomsburg Huskies 103-60 behind the stellar, aggressive play of senior Brandon Triche [7], who was an efficient 9-for-11 from the field and 2-for-3 behind the arc, for 23 points. Triche added seven assists and five rebounds.
“He was able to play we expected he could,” head coach Jim Boeheim [8] said. “That was the best thing to come out of today.”
Triche was less effective in last week's exhibition game against Pace, where he scored only 11 points on 3-for-8 shooting.
“[I was] just being more aggressive, putting my body on other guys, getting rebounds,” Triche said of the difference in the two games. “My mom and dad said I was playing like I was dead [last game] so I wanted to play with more energy, and I guess that translated into more buckets.”
Triche thanked the big men for his big game, saying that “Our big guys ran well. Once they got the rebound, we could get on the break,” Triche said. “It makes it a lot easier for the guards to make open passes.”
Sophomore Michael Carter-Williams [9] had a nice game of his own, second on the team with 15 points. He also dished out eight assists and grabbed six rebounds.
“[I was] just being patient, using my teammates, and finding who's open,” Carter-Williams said of his role as the point guard, a position he is still developing at. “We've put in a lot of work, and are really coming together as a team.”
C.J. Fair [10] was third on the team with 12 points and Jerami Grant scored 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench. In his first action with the Orange this year, Trevor Cooney [11] hit two three-pointers and tallied three assists.
The Orange kick off the regular season against San Diego State [12] on Friday in what has been dubbed “The Battle on the Midway” [13] because it will be played on an aircraft carrier.
“It's going to be a good experience, an experience none of us have had before.” Carter-Williams said.
“Playing on an aircraft, nobody gets to do that. Wearing camo, new shoes,” Triche noted. “We're excited. It's the first game of the season, so we'd be excited anyway.”
When asked whether the team was ready moving from easy exhibition to the regular season opening against a team ranked No. 20 in the nation, Triche was confident.
“We're ready. Probably even more than last year,” Triche said. “We didn't hit the 100 mark in any exhibition game [last year], and we were able to play defense [this year].”
