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Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Orange avoided a huge upset with an 85-84 win over Bryant in the season opener for both teams at the Carrier Dome on Friday.
If they had been fans in the stands, they wouldn’t have timed out until Bryant missed two shots to win the game in the dying seconds.
After Quincy Guerrier and Marek Dolezaj of Syracuse both missed the front of free throws 1 and 1 with 12 and 11 seconds left; respectively, the Bulldogs pushed the ball high with a chance to win the game.
But Bryant’s Peter Kiss missed a 3 point corner and Michael Green’s short jumper on the follow-up failed.
>> Box score
After the Orange survived a game he probably should have lost, a Bulldogs player slammed the ball out of the field in frustration after the last buzzer.
Buddy Boeheim led Syracuse with 23 points, while Dolezaj finished with 20 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Guerrier, who started the first game of his career, compiled a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
“As soon as the game started it was going to fall on the wire or we were going to lose, ” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who said he made a mistake in continuing the game after his team had just finished a practice day after a 12 day break. “I stupidly thought we could (play). We just had no rhythm. ”
Bryant led most of the game, including a 13-point advantage early in the second half.
Joe Girard, who struggled the whole game, hooked up on a long 3-pointer to give Syracuse an 83-82 lead with 2:27 left.
It was a “No! No! Yes! Fired as Girard, who was 1-by-12 that day at the time, stood up well past the top of the key.
Boeheim said it was the worst game he had ever seen Girard play, “but we survived it.
Marek Dolezaj hit both ends of a one-and-one with 22 seconds left for an 85-82 lead.
Bryant moved closer to 85-84 on Green’s float with 12 seconds remaining. It was then that Guerrier and Dolezaj missed their free throws to give the Bulldogs one last chance – which turned into two last chances – to win the game.
But the Bulldogs, who shot the ball incredibly well in the first half, couldn’t get either shot.
Syracuse players appeared to show the effects of a 12-day layoff due to two positive coronavirus tests – Boeheim and an unidentified player – on the program
Bryant seemed to have more energy and was much sharper, especially in the first half.
The score was tied at 41 with three minutes left in the half, but Bryant scored 10 in a row to take a 51-41 lead. Buddy Boeheim’s 3 pointer on the buzzer broke Bryant’s run.
Chris Childs, a transfer from Indian Hills Community College in Iowa, where he was the second All-American team last year, scored 15 points in the first half for Bryant. Childs shredded the SU zone, pulling off five of his six 3-point attempts in the first half. Bryant led 63-50 past 3-pointer Peter Kiss with 16 minutes remaining.
Syracuse was still trailing 73-66, but Buddy Boeheim buried back-to-back 3 points to draw the Orange to 73-72 with 8:11 to go.
Girard had missed his first 11 shots from the field, but he knocked down a 3 point pointer off the top of the key to give Syracuse a 75-73 lead with 6:04 left in the game.
Liverpool High School star Charles Pride put Bryant in the lead with a 3-point lead for a 78-77 lead. Pride would end with 15 points.
Syracuse’s defense was a problem last season, and it was Friday again.
Syracuse scored 44 points in the first half but was still trailing seven points at the break after giving up 51 points in the opening 20 minutes.
More basketball from Syracuse:
Syracuse still struggles to keep teams (quick shots from Donna Ditota)
You rate the Orange after defeating Bryant
Ax: Syracuse basketball fan to miss first home game in 40 years on Friday
40th anniversary of Syracuse’s first basketball game at Carrier Dome: heaters, tracksuits and airlock doors
Will Syracuse be adding more games or is the program full? (Mike’s mailbox)
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